God is good, and He does good. This is Psalm 119.68. We know this, but we forget it often. When things are hard, we forget that God is good. When death happens, we forget that God is good. When we are diagnosed with a tough disease, we forget that God is good. Y’all, He is ALL good. There is nothing bad in Him. There is no possibility of bad being in Him. Everything He does or even thinks about doing is good. This is the God we serve. Praise God for His goodness.

I’m writing this while looking out my window at the ice falling. You guys know how this works. We’re not North Arkansas. We don’t get a lot of this. When we do, people kind of freak out. I guarantee you the grocery store shelves are looking a little empty. Whether we need it or not, we stock up on bread, eggs and milk. What are we thinking we’re going to make with those things? Do we just automatically crave toast, scrambled eggs and cereal when bad weather hits? The breakfast menu is what quickly rises to the top.

Regardless of the menu, most of us will remain warm and dry in the event of bad weather. However, many in our communities will not. Is God just good for us? Does He just work for a few in providing warmth and food? By no means. How many times did Jesus talk about clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and visiting the cell-bound? How often do His miracles revolve around the broken, poor and helpless? How many times does He tell His followers to be Lights in the darkness and open invitations to those who don’t know how to find Him? God is good and that means that all who know Him are called and gifted by Him to be good, too.

I pray this wintery mix doesn’t amount to anything, but if it does, know that the Church will be on the move! Two years ago, we opened our gym as a shelter during the Rocky Mountain snowfall we received. I was exhausted, but I also had the time of my life. We had a blast hanging out with the crew we ended up with here. And we weren’t alone. Churches all over South Arkansas mobilized, bringing warmth, food and a dry place to stay for those who were caught by the storm. This is how we are supposed to respond in crisis. We are the original Red Cross!

God IS good and He DOES good. Every hard time, every crisis, every fatal disease is an opportunity for the world to see the goodness of God. We get so accustomed to the darkness, we forget just how big and strong the Light can be. But that doesn’t diminish Him. We get so used to finding our way home by ourselves, we forget that the Holy Spirit of God acts as our Guide, our Comfort and our Teacher. We’ve never been all by ourselves, but we sure like to act like we are.

I’m going home to build a fire and play some games with my kiddos. We’ll make some homemade hot chocolate and enjoy some popcorn made on the fireplace. I don’t like drama and I’m not a first responder. I’m not trained for medical evaluations or to put out fires. But I am trained to be a Light. If any needs present themselves in this storm, we will be ready to meet them head on. This is how Jesus works and the Church does nothing more or less than follow in His footsteps. Are you ready to leave your hot chocolate to serve someone who needs to see just how good God is? If we go out, trust me, the goodness of God made visible for our communities to see is better than any bowl of hot popcorn I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve tasted some pretty good corn. 

God is good, and He does good … all the time. Let’s make sure the world sees that in the next week.