-Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days. -Hosea 3:5
I had forgotten how good You are…the rediscovery of it has been sweet, refreshing, and life-giving.
I cry as I eat of your goodness, knowing my soul had been so starved of it before.
And finally eating home, eating love, eating peace, and eating joy, my heart revives.
I am a kid in the infinite berry-fields of your goodness and every colorful fruit is for my enjoyment.
You say, “taste and see that I Am good.”
I’m awakened to the reality that your plans are for my prosperity, for life, for wholeness, for my entire well-being, for joy unspeakable and abundant love eternal.
I lie still in the waterfalls of your affections and finally allow You to pour out the streams of your pleasures upon my head and drench my body and soul in celestial cure, health and love.
For so long I was stiff, afraid of the power of your goodness.
Now…I let You sing over me.
My older sisters have told me a story (over and over again) about how when I was a little girl a friend of theirs raced them up a mango tree to grab the juiciest mango on top (this was when we lived in the Bahamas). They said they had all wanted that mango so bad, but he had gotten to it first.
When he came down the mango tree he gave that prized mango to me and I sat down on the hot cement and began to bite into it.
My sisters always describe the mango juice running down my lips and dripping down my chest, even onto my legs and the ground. “You were swimming in mango juice.”
Jesus, I feel like I’m biting into the juiciest fruit again.
Only now….it’s fruit from your tree…from your heart.
It’s fruit that I haven’t earned but that you’ve won for me.
And it’s a never ending song…singing over me.
Water to dry-cracked ground, rain to my skin.
Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.
-Psalm 36: 5-9 AMPC
~For more devotions like this on God’s goodness, check out my book Visions of Celestial Love (Rediscovering Healing Grace).
~ “Visions of Celestial Love is a book of inspiring quotes and beautiful prose about God’s unconditional love for mankind. The insights of this book help us to understand that it was the Father’s great love for us that made a way for us to have life together with His Son, Jesus Christ. Through it we get a glimpse into the true meaning of Christ’s sacrifice of love expressed through His death, burial and resurrection as God’s magnificent gift of grace to us. His blood made it possible for all those who put their faith in Him to have fellowship with His Father again.
I am confident that at the completion of this book, you will also seek after God with your whole heart and want to be in His presence forever.” —Alice Paige