Good! Great! Holy!

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.  I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.  Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!  No one can measure his greatness.  (Psalms 145:1-3))

Isn’t it amazing how we consistently talk about how good lunch was, how good something looks, how much we like a song, or how good our day was.  We talk about it in awe.  We have no problem speaking it, nonverbals and all.  But when we go to church on Sunday, a limited number of us tell or sing about the goodness of the Lord.  Some sing, some don’t, a few raise their hands, but most won’t.  I’m not saying we have to sing or raise our hands.  I personally think it’s a Spirit thing.  The Holy Spirit will put it on our heart and leave it up to us to do or not do the action.  It’s called choice.  But what better way to show our love and admiration of our great King than worship and praise.  Let it all be to Him and about Him.  If God made us do it, we could never demonstrate our love for and awe of Him.  Think about that for a moment.  Think about who or what God is to you.

God is a good God.  We read in Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”  And in Psalm 103:1-5 we read, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”  How can we not be thankful for all God does for us.  Our very existence is enough, but He does so much more for us daily.  God is so good.

He is also a great God as we read in the opening verse.  Psalms 77: 13-14 says, “O God, your ways are holy.  Is there any god as mighty as you?  You are the God of great wonders!  You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.”  When people admire you for showing how awesome and powerful and mighty you are, that’s greatness.  But has this nation lost its zeal for the Lord?  Do we honor Him as we should?  Though the world’s focus is not on the light of the Lord, He is our Light of the World.

We serve a holy God.  Isaiah 57:15 reads, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  God is our present help.  He wants to revive our humble spirits and our broken hearts.  That is, if we are humble and broken.  Our God can heal us every where it hurts.  As it says in Psalm 77:13, “Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?”  And the answer is, no god.  For our God is God alone.

So, why don’t we praise God for His goodness, praise Him for His greatness, stand in awe, even lift our hands in worship for His holiness?  I believe it’s a heart problem.  Do we really love the Lord?  The bible says in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  As I said earlier, I believe it’s a Spirit thing.  I say this because I feel the Spirit move in me.  My response, or lack thereof, shows the truth.  He, The LORD alone, is worthy.

My close is 1 Peter 1:13-16 which states, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  Our good, great, and holy God deserves our worship.  He deserves our praise.  Give Him glory, and do it in Spirit and truth.  Great are You Lord!