
Psalm 145
Verse 9 The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.
David brings up the topic of compassion for another day but this one is on a slightly different level than the one we talked about yesterday.
First off we need to remember that this is a song of praise and though inspired by the Holy Spirit it is not a blanket promise from God. As a song of praise this is about God’s people lifting up His name because of who He is, it is the creation of God acknowledging Him without putting words into His mouth.
This could easily be a verse that many would see as proof that God can’t be real because if He did then He would be compassionate on all and shower them with goodness. In other words that if God is real He should never let anything bad happen like mass shootings, bad weather and a host of other things that people think God should control better. But this verse isn’t given from God and therefore doesn’t speak to His making our lives wonderful and fun all the time.
In fact to understand His goodness and compassion we can’t look at it from a human viewpoint because what seems right to a man often seems foolish to the Lord of Heaven. Our ways are not His ways, nor our thoughts His thoughts. What seems good to man is often what man thinks brings him pleasure, but God has bigger thoughts and is not thinking merely in terms of our earthly life.
David was actually praising God for how He is good to all, He sends good weather and spreads it widely. He gives us healthy food in abundance on most occasions and grants us more safety than our foolish choices should allow. These are the things that He does that are good. These are the things that give Him pleasure to do for us, His creation.
But there are exceptions. He doesn’t provide exactly what we want every time we want it and how we want it. He doesn’t always make a storm to pass over us unscathed. Nor does He make life a bed of roses. No, our Lord is good and compassionate because He allows us to go through the tough times and grow through them. This is the Lord we worship!
Making It Personal
What is something good that God has done in your life? Do you always get what you want in life? Can you see how not having everything going your way all the time is His being compassionate to you?
Making It Personal Kids
Do your mom and dad always give you what you want when you want it? Do you think that if you got everything you want that you would grow to be a better person? Does Jesus know what is best for you and give you what you need?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for protecting us from ourselves and our greedy desires. Help us to see things from the perspective that You know what is best for us and You even use the evil in this world for our growth and spiritual development. In Jesus; name, amen.
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