Introduction: I’ve seen several blog posts that invite the reader to come alongside the journey of the writer. I can’t decide if I want to do the same. Do I take a teaching approach and just relay information and insight? Or do I embark on a journey inviting others to come alongside? While there is safety and a degree of anonymity behind the written word, sharing my own personal journey in a public format is hauntingly vulnerable. SO here goes.
Let’s talk about God’s goodness. What exactly do we mean when we say good? Miriam Webster’s dictionary defines good in three categories: as an adjective, a noun, and an adverb. You read things such as true, honorable, not depreciated, can be relied on, and wholesome, to name a few. In scripture we see verses using the word good in all three of those categories. Psalm 68:68, Deuteronomy 8:7, Philippians 1:6 tell us that God does good things, that He gives good things and that He himself is the very definition of good. One Hebrew word captures all of these different expressions of good in the word – tov. In Genesis Moses recounts the event of creation. We are told that each day of creation resulted in a declaration of ki tov, emphatic good/well crafted, well formed. Every day of creation that is, until the creation of humankind. At the loneliness of Adam we read, lo tov, not good….until humankind was completed with the creation of woman. So where am I going with all of this?
What do you do with the knowledge that God is the very definition of good, gives His beloved children good gifts, extends goodness to everyone…but is also behind your life of pain? The author of the circumstances that you didn’t create and can’t change?
As I embark on this journey of further understanding the God I have given my heart, my soul, my future, my past, and my present to, and the very painful loneliness I begrudgingly find myself in/can’t escape from, I invite you to come along and discover His heart toward His creation, His heart toward me and His heart toward you. Your Sister in Christ, Tina