Putting Up Goodness
Psalm 31:19-20 “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.”
Back in the day, Grandma might have been known to talk about ‘putting up’ corn, beans and peaches. What did that even mean? Well, she was preserving and storing food that might be needed later. If she ‘put up’ the fresh peaches in the summer, then the family would have wonderful, sweet canned peaches in the dead of winter. They could enjoy the sweet, tangy taste of peaches as if they were just picked from the tree. The goodness was preserved to be enjoyed later. And everyone knew those peaches were there on the shelf in the pantry….just waiting to be enjoyed. Oh, the anticipation!!
Did you know that God ‘puts up’ and preserves goodness for us to be enjoyed later? He doesn’t just give us ‘good’ here, but He stores up plentiful amounts of Godly goodness for us to enjoy for eternity! “Oh how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!”
Did you catch that last phrase? “Which you have prepared for those who trust You in the presence of the sons of men”. God knows the opposition we face from others who mock, persecute, oppress and ridicule. He knows we are strangers and aliens in this world dominated by darkness. Yet, even in the worst of times, there is plentiful goodness from God that can and should be enjoyed. This world is not our home, it’s not where we’re meant to be comfortable and envision ourselves for eternity. But God gives goodness to give us a foretaste of heaven and what is to come. Oh, the anticipation!! That goodness i going to be SO good when we step into His presence!
When our sons and daughters face hardship and persecution, how do we encourage them? Do we remind them that God is laying aside goodness to bless them? Not only that, but He longs to shelter them from evil and from those who would seek to oppress them. (Honestly, we should remind ourselves as well.)
Let’s pray today that our sons and daughters run to His arms, find shelter in His embrace and believe He has goodness enough for them, both for today and for the future. Let’s pray that their eyes are opened to the plentiful goodness of God around them, despite the brokenness of this world. Pray that they can see and be encouraged by God’s provision for them.
Pray without ceasing.