the fall of man

Fall is in the air. Can you feel it? I can't. But here's proof:

~ Starbucks has begun to serve pumpkin spice lattes again.
~ Olay is reissuing their Winter Retreat body wash that disappeared during the summer, but makes my arms (and probably feet, too, but I tend to notice it less) smell like vanilla.
~ Shane & Shane sang "Oh Holy Night" off their in-the-works Christmas album at their "free fall concert" in front of the seminary last night. Shane & Shane and Christmas music is an ethereal combination.
~ Game 1 of football season was Thursday night. Tomorrow promises to be a good day.
~ It's not 90 degrees today.

My good friend Sarah taught me a valuable lesson the other day. I merely asked her one lesson God taught her while she served in Africa this summer, and she answered, "God is good." I don't know about you, but I've heard that far too often.
Pastor: God is good--
Congregation: --all the time!
And I think my problem stems from the situations in which I've heard people say it. "God really pulled me through it. He is so good." But what if He hadn't pulled you through it? What if you had died, or been maimed, or lost your house or family or shelves of books? Would God still have been good?

Too often I base the character of God off of what I am going through. I feel alone, so God is far. I feel sad, so God has abandoned me. But just because I am scared doesn't mean God isn't comfort. Just because I am unhappy doesn't mean God isn't joy. "God is good" is a fact that doesn't change with the way I feel. It's like a tree, firmly planted in the soil, whose leaves change every fall and spring. Just because the leaves turn orange and fall off doesn't mean the tree has changed in any way. It's the leaves who change, not the tree. God is good. It's who God is, not the circumstance or situation with which I am dealing.

God loves us, wants to heal us, save us, be near us, and because of this I think I think I deserve those things. Why won't You heal me? Why won't You save me? But I've come to realize, it isn't about me. The people in the Old Testament seem to grasp this concept and that of God's goodness, even before Jesus. In 1 Chronicles 20, Joab is about to attack the Ammonites, and he tells his men in verse 12, "Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight."

That's it! They trust the Lord to do what is good in his sight. They might not understand why. They might die! But it isn't up to them. It's up to the Lord. They accept that. And whatever happens, is good. Like Shane Bernard shared last night, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar, "'If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up'" (Daniel 3:17-18). Even if he does not! It's not about US, they're saying. It's about the true King, about His plans, His reign, worshiping Him.

To me, it seems that we should serve God simply because He is Creator and majestic and a thousand other adjectives. But He is also loving and good and wants to be in relationship with us. But that doesn't mean everything will always go our way. Jesus said in John 16, "'In this world you will have trouble.'" WILL! Not may, or could, or perhaps will, but will. "'In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'" The verse preceeding that declares that Jesus has told us this so that, in Him, we may have peace. In Him, not in this world. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

I don't know if any of this makes sense. I praise God for who He is, not for what good is going on in my life. I praise God for who He is, not because I'm happy right now. "God is good" doesn't mean "everything in my life is going good right now" (excuse the incorrect grammar). God is good, period. God is good.

I don't feel like doing homework.