Goodness

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

One of the things I love most about being a mother, a grandmother, and now a great-grandmother, is the opportunity to experience priceless, everyday moments with my family. This past Saturday was one of those opportunities that will forever remain a treasure for me. To celebrate my birthday, my daughters, granddaughters, and sister took me for afternoon tea at a sweet tearoom in downtown Denver. There were seven of us at the table, and my oldest granddaughter and 9-month-old great-granddaughter joined us via Facetime from Indiana. As always, when the girls in our family get together, there is no shortage of laughter and multiple simultaneous conversations. We genuinely enjoy being together, and regularly schedule time to do that. I was blessed Saturday to sit next to my ten years old granddaughter. Rapidly leaving childhood behind, she had dressed with care, and was excited to be part of this girl’s afternoon. With heads together, we looked over the wide variety of teas to sample. She chose a strawberry cream herbal tea for her first pot (at her mother’s strong recommendation). I chose my favorite, Earl Grey, which quickly became her favorite as well. Adding cream and sugar cubes (two lumps, please), we sipped contentedly as we waited for our tea towers of goodies to arrive.

My granddaughter’s eyes were bright with enthusiasm, and she made certain to engage in the conversations going on around her, even sharing some private tidbits with me. When the Facetime call came, we all passed the phone around to wave and talk to the littlest girl in our family. She was exuberant in her joy at each new face, and her delight with us was mutual. Cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, macarons and chocolate pastries were devoured with exclamations of delight. My granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed stirring sugar cubes into her tea while licking macaron cream from her fingers, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her. In fact, my greatest pleasure that day came from watching my girls enjoy the simple goodness of being together, four generations united in Christ, gathered around pots of tea sweetened with laughter and chatter.

As I read this verse today, I couldn’t help but think, with wonder and awe,  of the delight God must experience as He watches His daughters enjoy the goodness of His provision and everyday simple moments. It was not the tower of treats or even the pots of tea that brought smiles to our faces. It was, more than anything, experiencing God’s goodness together and knowing deep down His good pleasure.

Regardless of our family situation or life circumstances, believers in Jesus Christ can celebrate daily the goodness of God:

• He is with us! He will never leave us or forsake us.
• He is mighty to save! Nothing and no one can snatch us from His hand.
• He takes great delight in us! Nothing we have ever done or ever will do can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
• He quiets us with His love. We need not fear or fret because our loving Father is sovereign and in control.
• He will rejoice over us with singing! Could there be a sweeter sound than this?

And our ultimate celebration is still to come, when men, women and children of every tribe and every nation will gather around the table for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, and we will sing praise to the goodness of our God for all eternity (and perhaps lick heavenly cream from our fingers at the same time). I can’t wait!

1. What everyday moment can you celebrate with God today?
2. How are you experiencing God’s goodness in your own life?
3. How will you deliberately choose to praise God even when circumstances are hard?

Father,  thank You for the goodness of Your provision in my life. Thank You for saving me, for Jesus who redeemed me to be Your own. Thank You for Your promises and for Your love. Help me today to celebrate with a thankful and surrendered heart Your perfect provision and each simple moment. You are GOOD! I love you, Lord.

Amen