Good & Plenty

September 12, 2012 — by Joe Stowell

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You. —Psalm 16:2

I have to admit that I’ve got a sweet tooth. Of all the candies I love, Good & Plenty is near the top of the list. Life is good when I have a handful of those luscious, sugar-coated licorice pieces!
There are a lot of good things in life. But like a feast of Good & Plenty, the goodness is soon over. Even the best of the good things can afterward leave us feeling empty and even regretful. So when the psalmist declares, “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, apart from You I have no good thing’” (Ps. 16:2 niv), I am intrigued. We all know that God is good. But when was the last time we embraced Him as the ultimate good in our life?
The psalmist explains just how good God really is: He is our preserver (v.1), our total goodness-giver (v.2), our counsel and instruction (v.7), and the One who makes known “the path of life” and fills us with joy in His presence (v.11). Now that’s what I call good!
Unfortunately, too often we let lesser “goods” eclipse our acceptance of the everlasting goodness of God in our lives. The fleeting nature of lesser goods will ultimately disappoint us—you can count on it. Only God is truly good! And there is plenty of Him for all we need.

Oh, taste the goodness of the Lord
And savor all that He has done;
Draw close and give your praise to Him—
The holy, sovereign, faithful One. —Sper

God alone is good. Don’t settle for second best.