Have You Gotten Used to the Goodness of God?

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.  2 Peter 1:3-4

It really has nothing to do with me.

I am so undeserving.

I mean, I know my heart.

I know my willful, stubborn pride.

I know my slothfulness, my quest for ease.

I know my inconsistent attempts to be good.

Yet…

It is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul - It Is Well With My Soul hymn

Despite the corruption that is in the world... in me, I’ve been miraculously rescued, and my soul is nestled securely in my Saviour’s loving arms.

That truth knocks me right out of my senses.

Leaves me speechless, dumbfounded, amazed.

If I were to keep that truth always before me…

If I were to live amazed…

I would be so much more grateful, so much more humble and so much more merciful.

My life would be a song.

A sweet, melodious song of praise to my Saviour, one that warmly attracts others into the safety of the nest.

But…

I don’t stay amazed.

Not consistently anyway. Not in a way that shows up in my day-to-day.

I become impatient and critical of others just as undeserving as me, because I fail to marvel at the amazing grace my Lord and Saviour extends to me - the chief of sinners.

Sometimes, I steal God’s thunder… secretly crediting myself… my abilities, my efforts for the fruit I see in my life…  because I stop being in awe that the Spirit of the all-powerful Creator chooses to live inside of me - a vessel He has crafted.

Yes, when my ‘I’m-accustomed-to-it’ attitude mixes with a generous helping of ‘I’m-not-so-bad-after-all’, I become ungrateful, whiny, and self-motivated.

And self-motivation, especially at this time of year, can be hazardous.

So, I’m pausing now to pray.

O Lord God, Who Inhabitest Eternity,

The heavens declare thy glory,

The earth thy riches,

The universe is thy temple,

Thy presence fills immensity,

Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life, and communicated happiness;

Thou hast made me what I am, and given me what I have;

In thee I live and move and have my being;

Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,

and wisely administers all my affairs.

I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,

                for the unclouded revelation of him in thy Word,

                where I behold His Person, character, grace, glory,

                humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;

Give me to feel a need of his continual saviourhood,

                and cry with Job, ‘I am vile’,

                with Peter, ‘I perish’,

                with the publican, ‘Be merciful to me, a sinner’.

Subdue in me the love of sin,

Let me know the need of renovation as well as of forgiveness,

                in order to serve and enjoy thee for ever.

I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,

with nothing of my own to plead,

no works, no worthiness, no promises.

I am often straying,

                often knowingly opposing thy authority,

                often abusing thy goodness;

Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,

                my low estimation of them,

my failure to use them to my advantage,

But I am not careless of thy favour or regardless of thy glory;

Impress me deeply with a sense of thine omnipresence,

                that thou art about my path, my ways, my lying down, my end.

Amen.

I’m using this profound prayer entitled, ‘God the Source of All Good’ taken from ‘The Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions’ as a prompt to encourage my heart’s prayer to live amazed.

I want to remain there… to wonder at the incredibleness of it all… to continually marvel at God!

I want to peer into His word and His world, to see and savor the beauty, the goodness, the love, the mercy, the power of the LORD and to live amazed by who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing.

Then…

prayerfully and through His power…

my life can be a sweet song.

************************

What about you?

Have you gotten used to the goodness of God?

Or do you live amazed?

How would your life… 

your plans, your relationships, your day-to-day 

be different if you lived amazed? 

Grace to you,

Carlie

Please enjoy this special bonus video - 'No Ocean Big Enough - The Beauty of God in the World He Made - John Piper'.

Also sharing today over at #TellHisStory link up. 

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Have You Gotten Used to the Goodness of God?