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

Yesterday, my family celebrated Thanksgiving with a smaller crowd than we are used to. Just Ben, myself, my parents, and their next door neighbors. But although our numbers were down, you wouldn’t know it by looking at our desserts. One French Silk Pie, one Blackberry Pie, two pumpkin fluffs, and a large tray of pumpkin crisp. As someone with a major sweet-tooth, life was looking pretty good!

Like dessert, there are a lot of good things in life. But alternatively like desserts, the goodness wears off quickly. 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,” 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 “treats” 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.