II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 113 - "Goodness"

Yesterday I was reading and pondering upon Psalm 113. It reads it the New King James Version:

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.

4 The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

7 He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
8 That He may seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
9 He grants the barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

Verse nine of this Scripture is a struggle for many women who cannot conceive. I remember a time where it seemed like there were so many women we were praying for that were struggling with infertility. There were nine but I can only remember the outcome of the prayers for five. Two finally conceived and had two children; two had one child after conceiving; and one stayed infertile. I understand how the four were able to praise the Lord but what about the one dear woman who was never able to conceive. How could she praise the Lord in her circumstances? How could her and her husband be joyful when they were never given the opportunity to hold their own baby in their arms? Verse three tells us, From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord's name is to be praised. How can we praise God through difficult times? How can we praise Him when our prayers are not being answered? We can praise Him because our prayers are always answered, just not always how we want them to be. We can praise Him because He raises and lifts us up from the pit of hell. We can praise Him because He always knows what is best for us. Plain and simple, not matter what we are going through in life we can praise Him. In one commentary about this Psalm it talked about the constancy of God's goodness shown in the verse three verses. It read:

His name and his character are inseparable; utter his name, and there instantly rise to our thought the attributes which distinguish him; to sing of his Name is not to praise an imaginary or ideal one, but the very Lord God himself. We worship him "with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning."

Woo hoo! He is Who we are to praise no matter what happens in life. Why? Because He is real. He is with us at all time. I think of the words to the song Goodness that Bethel sings.

Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

This song has stayed with me since Doc's appointment Wednesday. I'm so grateful for the way God uses Scripture and music to encourage me. He has been faithful for all my days. He was faithful even when I walked away from Him. He was faithful when I doubted Him. He is faithful in times of distress when I fall apart emotionally. Plain and simple. He has and will always be faithful. Praise Him Holy Name! These days we are experiencing are not easy days as human beings. They are days of great pain in physical and emotional bodies. They are days of unknown on how long we have together on this earth. But they are also days of praise for every moment we have together. They are days of praise when Doc's pain doesn't show it's ugly head. They are days of praise with people God puts in our lives that encourage us; bless us with meals, financially, etc.; speak life over us; etc. They are days of praise when He clearly gives us an answer to a prayer. Even though these days are 'tough' ones to get through I am thankful He is with us and always gives us a reason to praise Him! Yesterday was full of praises with: Doc being able to go with me to the church building; Dan, Lynette and their friends haul away the branches from the yard at the church; Doc being able to eat some solids; and our time to be together last evening watching TV. We praise Him for everything He blesses us with. I praise Him for the words of encouragement I received through many yesterday. I praise Him for the tears that fell because they cleansed my spirit. I praise Him for being My Heavenly Daddy that loves me so much. I love how this song continues...

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
And in darkest night You are close like no other
I've known You as a Father
I've known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah

Woo hoo! Yes! He is My Father, My Friend, and all I need. He was with me yesterday and the days in the past just as He is with me today and the days in the future. I am not alone but instead can stand in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as Paul wrote of in II Timothy 1:7. Praise His Holy Name!

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for always being with me! Thank You for giving me many reasons to praise Your Holy Name! Father, I pray for Doc today to feel Your goodness in a mighty way! May You be the Soothing Balm over his pain today. May You be his Healer today so the pain will be gone. Father, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May You be my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today in a new, different way. May I love with Your love more intentionally than ever before. Lord, I pray for Your peace for: Melanie as she has her procedure; Carolynn as they bury her brother; Mary Weins family; June; Gabbee's family; Vance and Craig as they continue their battles; and all who are struggling with their present circumstances. May You be greater than what they are battling. May Your strength be their strength in a way they will be overwhelmed by You. Thank You Father for being My Goodness! Amen.