another glimpse of His heart

Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:20

I have always loved this passage. I believe in God's goodness. I am convinced that at the center of His heart is a desire for a deep, intimate relationship with me. Its the reason He made me. Its the reason He went through everything He did to redeem me from my sin and rebellion. He calls us His Bride. His goodness is one of those ideas that is simply settled in my heart. It gets questioned and tested, but its one of those things that I just know is true. I can't prove it to you. Its not a product of my profound deductive reasoning. I don't "believe" it simply because "the Bible says so." Its just true. He is good. When I see or hear something that brings his goodness to question, I go back to a place that says, "There is more going on here than meets the eye." God is infinite. The universe is finite, but expansive beyond our comprehension. Every time scientists think they are seeing the edge of the universe, they develop some new technology that enables them to see whole galaxies that we never knew were there. I will never understand all the mysteries of life. I will never have enough understanding to figure it all out.

"When I consider the heavens..."

Darkness, or some guy you start talking to at Starbucks, will always come and ask the age old question, "Well if God is good then how come ____________." (Fill in the blank. Usually it has to do with pain and suffering and evil in the world.) And from the guy at Starbucks, its usually an honest question. I don't despise it. In fact, if you have never asked that question, well... I just can't imagine that. But, for me, its so settled inside, that the question usually turns into, "What am I missing here?" If I had all the facts, if I could see the big picture, I would see His goodness. Does that mean I think that everything that happens is good? Tsunamis, war, aids, the child sex trade? No... not at all. We live in a war zone. The world is a complex place. Its under a curse, brought on by mankind's rebellion that started in the garden. The cosmos are far more complex than I could ever comprehend, let alone explain. Man's free will, invisible spiritual forces, the inter-connectedness of all things. Too much for my pea brain. And I am okay with that. I have a core conviction that says God is good, in all His ways.

When it doesn't look that way, I understand that I just don't fully understand.

"Therefore my heart yearns for him..." His heart yearns for me? The eternal, uncreated creator of the universe yearns for me? He knows what I am really like, to the deepest, darkest corner of my heart, and He yearns for me.

Yet another way in which I understand that I dont fully understand. Not even close.

You are good, Lord. In all your ways.