I think God’s goodness is the one thing we so easily doubt when misfortune knocks at our door. Spurgeon once said of John Bunyan, “Prick that man anywhere and his blood runs bibline.” He meant that Bunyan’s thinking and life were both inextricably shaped by the Bible, and this is why it is so important for us to be soaked in the Scriptures which are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. (2 Tim 3:15) When adversity calls and we are knocked over by life’s hurricanes – illness, bereavement, financial desperation, persecution, rejection and so on – we need to have a solid foundation if we are to continue in faith and hope.

Ps 135 and Ps 136 provide us with a core of Biblical truth to hold us up in those times of testing. It can be hard to believe that God is good when tragedy hits us. Perhaps that is why the Bible repeats this fact so many times. I have many favourite Bible verses, but I think Ps 119:68 is up near the top of my list (‘You are good, and what You do is good.’) If we grasp this fact and hold on to God’s goodness and the fact that His love is unfailing and lasts forever, we will find the strength and courage to continue when the dark night of the soul comes upon us and we enter the cold season of winter. God is good. We may not understand what He does; we may doubt His love and kindness to us, but the psalms affirm again and again this repeated refrain. Greater even than a trust in God’s sovereignty and power is the security that comes from being in a loving relationship with God. God ‘will have compassion on his servants.’ (Ps 135:14) He ‘has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.’ (Ps 135:4; see also 1 Pet 2:9-10) His faithful, steadfast, covenantal love (which means ‘he remembered us in our low estate’ Ps 136:23 and which is celebrated throughout that psalm in the refrain ‘his love endures for ever’) is the foundation of all confidence and hope. Paul reminds us, ‘For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.’ (Romans 15:4) If we want to remain positive through life’s trials and faithful to the end, we need to be soaked in the Scriptures which tell us who God is so that when the doubts come, we are able to maintain confidence and hope.

[Some songs I have found helpful in affirming God’s character in all seasons are: ‘Even If’ (Kutless), ‘When the Tears Fall’ (Tim Hughes), and ‘Weep With Me‘ (Rend Collective). Click on the title to listen to the song.]

In concluding our Bible studies on the historical psalms, tonight we looked at Psalms 135 and 136, understanding that these psalms combine a rich vein of thanksgiving with historical facts about God as creator (Ps 135:6-7, Ps 136:5-9) and redeemer. Both psalms refer again to the exodus, that all-defining moment of Israel’s history (Ps 135:8-9, Ps 136:10-16), but also look to God’s continued help throughout the wilderness wanderings (Ps 135:10-12, Ps 136:17-20). These historical references help to root us in God’s character. Both psalms are calls to praise and both remind us unequivocally of reasons to praise and give thanks (‘for the Lord is good’ Ps 135:3, ‘give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.’ Ps 136:1) Ps 136 is unique in its repeated refrain (‘His love endures forever’, which features in every one of the 26 verses) and whilst we may find such repetition tedious at times, it is a fact that we need to be reminded constantly of God’s love and goodness, because we tend to doubt these so much (and have an enemy whose favourite tactic is casting doubt on God’s goodness, a tactic which has had much success since Eve first believed it…)

Both psalms, therefore, root us in the immutable nature of God. The God who made promises to Israel also made good on those promises, leading His people into a rich inheritance (since He is good, His gifts are also good as Deut 1:25 testifies; see also Ps 84:11, James 1:17). He is far superior to any man-made gods we care to come up with (Ps 135:15-18; see also Is 44:1-20), for He is the God who spoke creation into being and who does whatever pleases Him (Ps 135:6; see also Ps 115:3). Because God does not change (Mal 3:6), we can trust Him to be good to us and to fulfil His promises. Just as He led Israel through the wilderness, He will lead us; just as He freed them from their enemies; He will free us. Our response, therefore, should be the same as theirs, to give thanks and praise to the God who is good and whose love endures forever.

We had three special birthdays to celebrate tonight, with all three special people reaching ‘significant’ milestones tomorrow and Tuesday. Our very best wishes to all three!

Thanks to Alan for these photos from Scarborough.

On the coach…

Sights from Scarborough…

Ice-cream is a common theme…

Fun and games on the beach…

One photographer posing for another…

Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, concluded that people can endure great suffering if there is meaning in the suffering for them, that life perceived as meaningless is one of the hardest things for the human spirit to bear. The good news is that God has created us all for a purpose; our lives are not meaningless. He has good works for us to do (Eph 2:10); He wants us to be involved in His great work of salvation.

This is astonishing, for God has no intrinsic need of us and yet longs for us to be His hands and feet, His shining face to a world desperately in need of significance and purpose. Matt 25:40 demonstrates that we can show God to others through our actions. God’s plan is that we are all involved in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), that we all serve as His ambassadors (see 2 Cor 5:17-21). We may wonder how we can do this, but every gift and talent we have, when surrendered to God, can be used by Him (after all, even Ehud’s left-handedness served God’s purposes, as we read in Judges 3:13-20!) Jesus said, ‘if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.’ (Matt 10:42) Our service will inevitably come in different shapes and sizes, for God loves diversity, but we can all serve Him in ways that will reflect His nature and allow others to see Him (see Matt 5:13-16).

One of the devil’s favourite lies is that life is pointless and we can’t make a difference. History tells us otherwise; it’s littered with the names of people whose actions had huge impact on families, societies and even the whole world. As we live in our true identity in Christ and fulfil His purpose for our lives, we will find that we all matter enormously. We can all make a difference.

Many of us struggle to believe we have value and worth. We feel insignificant and worthless and often other people contribute to this low self-esteem, which can be at the root of many mental health issues faced today. We need to be secure in our identity in God, living by God’s evaluation of who we are rather than our own ideas, other people’s judgments or the enemy’s lies.

God says we are…

1. children of God (John 1:12, 1 Jn 3:1)
2. heirs of God (Rom 8:17)
3. friends of God (Jn 15:14)
4. accepted by God and free from condemnation (Rom 15:7, Rom 8:1)
5. forgiven and redeemed (Col 1:13-14)
6. temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19)
7. new creations (2 Cor 5:17)
8. priests before God (1 Pet 2:9, Rev 5:10)
9. chosen by God (Eph 1:4)
10. people who belong to God (1 Pet 2:9)
11. freed by God (Gal 5:1)
12. no longer slaves to sin (Rom 6:14)
13. holy and blameless in God’s sigh (Eph 1:3-4)
14. seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
15. sealed with God’s Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13)
16. the light of the world (Matt 5:14)
17. secure in God’s love (Rom 8:38-39)
18. more than conquerors through Christ (Rom 8:37)
19. safe with God (Col 3:3)
20. part of the body of Christ (Rom 12:5)

Eph 1:11 in the Message version says ‘it’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.’ Only Christ can give us a purposeful identity.