Get to know the one behind the actions

Those who only praise God because he DOES them good should rise to a higher note and give thanks to him because he IS good. (Charles Spurgeon)

Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. (Psalm 118:1)

God's love never quits. His lovingkindness toward us never fails. What is lovingkindness anyway? Most would say it is tenderness and consideration toward another. The Hebrew term is CHECED, and it means God's covenant loyalty. In most places in scripture, the term 'lovingkindness' describes God's character. It actually is used to describe God's heart toward those he calls his own. We are told to see and consider his kindness and the steadfastness of his love toward his children. Then we are to give him praise because that kindness and steadfast love never quit!

The most important thing we can remember is that his lovingkindness toward us never quits. It never fails. It never gets outdone by anything we do. It will always reach out for us when we fail. It will always hold us up when we are weak and unlikely to succeed in our own strength. There is no deeper love, no stronger bond, no more heartfelt connection than his lovingkindness. For this, we all should be grateful and lift both our voices and hands in praise to him.

It isn't always about what God DOES that should make our hearts soar in praise. It should be about who he IS that centers our focus and fills our hearts. When we get to know the one BEHIND the actions of grace and forgiveness, we begin to see the extreme lengths his love will go to reach for the lost and hurting souls in this world (including ours). God's lovingkindness extends in the good times, as well as the bad. We just notice it more in the bad ones!

Thank God because he IS good. Proverbs 10:12 tells us that love covers all wrongs. Love always seeks to make peace by covering the wrong. The 'covering' of God's love is the basis of grace. Grace wipes away all wrong, making us new in him. Perhaps the greatest thing we can do today is to focus on WHO it is that loves us so deeply and then return our praise to him in reverent awe. Just sayin!