Beyond Good

Sometimes God can surprise us! He is not just good; He is beyond good. Let me give you an example recently. Over the past six months or so I had been searching the internet for a good deal on vacation house rentals near the beach. Each year our family, together with my parents, siblings and their families, get together during the summer and go someplace fun. In order to save money, we split the cost of rent and food to make it more affordable. The beach is one of our absolute favorite places to go. My kids pray and beg God for the opportunity to go each year. They love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and playing with their cousins.

This year our finances were super tight and it didn’t look like a vacation was possible. We found one house online that we really liked but it was booked the entire summer. I contacted the owner and put our name on a waiting list for cancellations. The chances of getting it didn’t look good. After looking at a few more options, nothing seemed appealing enough. We decided that if God wanted us to go, then He would have to make it happen. We had almost given up on the idea.

Nothing is impossible with God. The phone rang one night when I was least expecting it. The vacation owner remembered our conversation and called us right away. Someone had canceled during the week we needed. Although someone else wanted the same week and was offering MORE money, she gave it to us at a substantial discount off her asking price. Only God could have given us such a good deal and at the last possible moment. We were thrilled.

The beach was beautiful and relaxing. It was a much needed break. Whether it was jumping waves, building sandcastles, playing miniature golf, riding bikes or golf carts around, or exploring nature, we all had a great time. One of our last nights there, we took the golf cart around to explore a nearby marsh at sunset. My little 4 year old spontaneously broke out in a song he had learned in Sunday School. He sang very loudly, “God made the ocean. God made the trees. God made the sky. God made — ME!” At this he shouted and pointed at himself gleefully. He sang it over and over again inserting different words as he saw something new. He was so happy. He was singing from his heart. As his mom, it made my heart melt. He sang from his heart in the truest expression of gratitude to God that a little 4 year old could muster. He sang the entire way, singing as loud as he could. He meant every word. My son was thankful to God for His Blessings and so was I.

God is Beyond Good. He sometimes surprises us with gifts that we do not deserve. He does this simply because He loves us. He loves to hear us sing. He loves to see us smile. He loves to hear us say “Thank You” from our hearts.

His blessings are a reminder to us that He loves us.

God’s Love is REAL — His gifts are not by accident or chance, but they are on purpose. He blesses us so that we will recognize it’s Him. God’s love is real because God is real. We can touch and see and hear and smell and taste His gifts.

God’s Love is PERSONAL — His gifts are unique, one-of-a-kind originals, custom made for us. He knows what makes us smile, and dance, and jump up and down with delight. He knows what makes us happy. God handwrites each love letter to us individually.

God’s Love is EXTRAVAGANT — His gifts are often “over the top,” abundantly beyond what we need or ask for. God’s plans for us go beyond our dreams, tapping into unrealized potential and forgotten hopes for our future. In essence, GOD DREAMS FOR US. He speaks into existence things that don’t exist yet. God dreams for us because our dreams aren’t big enough.

God’s Love is CREATIVE — His gifts are new and different each day. With experience and expertise He carefully crafts each masterpiece. He thoughtfully plans, paying attention to the smallest detail. His gifts are altogether beautiful and creative and unique. God’s gifts cannot be duplicated.

God’s Love is UNDESERVED — His gifts are free. No wrong choices, failures or mistakes can separate us from His love or push Him away. We don’t have to “DO” anything or “BE” anybody special to deserve His love. God loves us just the way we are, right where we’re at.

God’s Love is FOREVER — His gifts are limitless. His love never runs out. He never gets tired of blessing us. His gifts never stop coming. His supply is endless. No one can match His generosity. We may give up on Him, but He will never give up on us.

God’s Love is Beyond Good!

The Bible For Today:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory…” (Ephesians 3:20-21a NIV)

“[What, what would have become of me] had I not BELIEVED that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!” — in my lifetime! (Psalm 27:13, AMP)