4th Sunday of Advent
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Written by Ashley Appleton
This psalm is so beautiful, and honestly the message seems really straightforward and simple. We know God is good, and we should sing of that for all of our days. Simple enough, right? Right. But do we actually carry this out each and every day?
When we think of God’s goodness, what does that look like? I think of goodness and think of things like the sweet giggles of my kids, the loving nature of my husband who is constantly putting in 100% effort to make everyone else's lives better, and beautiful winter days where the snow is fresh, the sun is shining and temperatures are sitting above freezing. And of course, I can't think of goodness without thinking of that morning brew I reach for each day!
And those things are good. But God’s goodness is something so much more pure and original than that. God is not just good, he is the BEST. He is the OG of all that is good! Mark’s Gospel says, “No one is good but One- God.” (Mark 10:18) The magnitude of that is almost too huge to grasp because all those simple good things I see in my own life don’t even compare to Him who is perfect and truly all things good.
When I think of the joy that my husband, kids, beautiful days, and even a good cup of coffee bring me, and then I think about the quote from Mark’s Gospel, I can’t help but feel like there are days I’m missing out on the massive joy that comes with recognizing and basking in God’s goodness. Aside from the fact that we are called as believers and followers to sing of His goodness, what kind of self-sabotage is it to not do so each day and to, therefore, deprive ourselves of the joy that comes with glorifying Him and His perfection each day?
Friends, this beautiful, simple psalm that I’ve heard hundreds of times in my life holds so much for us in it. How can we take time today and tomorrow and every day after that to sing of God’s goodness and in turn receive the ultimate joy?
Ashley Appleton is an elementary teacher who lives with her husband and their two (almost three) kids in Wisconsin. A product of Catholic education ending with a degree from St. Norbert College, Ashley and her husband, Paul, love spending time with family & friends, slow nights at home and the simple things like a big bowl of air-popped popcorn! They hope to instill the same values and faith in their family as their parents did in them and spread joy and positivity to all they meet.
Pray with today’s psalm.