Lord, You Are Good, Everything You Do Is Good

Psalm 119:68 (NIV)

68 You are good, and what you do is good; 
 
Our former pastor would often start his prayer by saying, "Lord, You are good, and everything you do is good."
 
I've taken that as a launching point for many of my prayers as well.  It puts God in His proper place.  It puts me in my proper place as well.  Let me explain.
 
First, we agree with God that he is good.  Scripture teaches us that his creation was "very good." (Gen. 1:31)  From that point on, through the Old and New Testaments, we see God's acts of love, promise, protection and redemption.  
 
Secondly, it reminds me that what I read about in scripture, he continues to do today.  God does not change.  He is still good and everything He still does is good.
 
OK, so what about the bad stuff?  We live in a broken, fallen world with people who are broken and fallen.  Some folks are good-willed people prone to making poor decisions.  Others are simply evil in their intent.  David found himself in the  midst of his enemies.  They were people who sought to damage his reputation if not cause him physical harm.
 
Read carefully what David says to the Lord, in the midst of trial.
 
Psalm 119:68-72 (NIV)
68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
 
I was listening to my iPod this morning and the words of a modern psalmist, David Crowder, caught my attention.

"And all of a sudden, / I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory / And I realize just how beautiful You are / And how great Your affections are for me / Oh how He loves us / Oh how He loves us / How He loves us all"

The phrase that jumped out at me was "these afflictions eclipsed by glory." 

This brings me to my third point.  If He is good, and everything He does is good,  then my afflictions aren't necessarily a bad thing.  I must surrender them to Him so that I may witness His glory.  It reminds me of my place as His child.  If I hold on to my afflictions, that is all I will see.  My afflictions.

My afflictions this year have dealt mainly with eye health.  I just received an excellent report and prognosis from the doctor after 3 surgeries and 8 months of recovery.  But I have to tell you, I would not change a thing about these past 8 months, because I now understand what it means to be suddenly "unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory."

Lord, You are good, and everything You do is good.