When it comes to the Lord, I often find myself at a loss for words, mostly because He’s beyond them. Lately as I sit there and try to fit Him within the confines of the English language, however, I keep coming back to one single word–good. But as much as I try to describe Him with this word, I hate it. Dictionary.com has over 50 definitions for the entry good, many, if not most, of which don’t apply to our Lord. I mean, who knows, maybe He is “conforming to the rules of grammar, usage, etc” (definition number 27) but somehow I just don’t think “free from precipitation or cloudiness” (definition number 34) or “comparatively new or of a fine quality” (definition number 30) quite capture what I’m trying to say when I describe my Lord as good.
One of my favorite songs is by Cory Asbury. In it, he repeatedly sings, “He’s been so good, so so good to me. So good, so so good to me, so good, so so good to me Jesus.”
Another song I’ll always love is by Israel & New Breed called, “You Are Good.” Over and over again they sing, “Lord you are good, and Your mercy endureth forever,” later followed by, “We worship You, for who You are, and You are good!”
We hear it over and over again in these songs we sing. Clearly I’m not the only one who thinks the Lord is good. But my question is, what does that word even mean anymore? How can we call the Lord good if we call anything and everything else good? In Hebrew, the Lord is revered so much so that certain words are used only for Him. Where is our reverence?
The first time I was convicted of the words I use was when I was a senior in college. One of the speakers at InterVarsity that week challenged us about our usage of the word awesome in our everyday language. “Was that really awesome?” he asked. “Did it really cause you to stop what you were doing and stand there in utter awe?” He explained to us what awe really was. And for this one, I actually agree with dictionary.com, for the most part anyway.
- an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like
- power to inspire fear or reverence.
- fear or dread.
Honestly, when was the last time something moved you to the point of awe? Yet when was the last time you used the word (or heard the word) awesome? Did the context match the meaning? Was it really a moment of awe?
I tend to agree with our speaker about this word. I try not to use it as much, though I’ve noticed myself using it more carelessly on this trip than I had before. I want to challenge myself though to start paying more attention to the words I use, especially those I intend to use to describe my Lord. If it’s going to describe my Lord, it better not be describing the food I ate too.
Lord, I pray that the words upon my lips may always be pleasing to you. I pray for a deeper understanding of who you are and how it is you’d like to be represented in this world. May I always be a vessel of your truth, your power, and your might through the words that I speak. You are good, oh Lord. You are awesome and forever I will praise your holy name.
