We all have probably said “Thank God” or “God is good” many times in our lives. But do our choices and way of living truly reflect our belief in God’s goodness? Realizing God’s goodness is the start of an amazing journey to see God in our lives.
The goodness of God means that God is the final standard of good, and all that God is and does is worthy of approval. Who gets to define what is good? When we judge God as not good, we make our view of things the highest authority. But what makes your judgment any truer than the next person’s? What if what I define as good, someone else sees as bad?
It’s not our approval that defines what good is, it is God’s approval. The Scriptures define and declare that God is good and that what he does is good (See Psalm 100:5; Psalm 106:1, Psalm 34:8; Psalm 119:68, Psalm 86:5, Nahum 1:7). Jesus also affirmed God’s goodness when he told the rich young ruler, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).
The Lord told His disciples, “There is only One who is good,” and that, of course, is God, the Holy One of Israel (Matthew 19:17). With the fall of man, we were separated from God, unable to be wholly good (see Isaiah 59:2). But in Christ we are made new, and by His Spirit we are able to “clothe [ourselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). This is the goodness that comes from the heart of God. It is planted within us when the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we lay our selfish desires aside.
John 3:27 says, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” Even one thing. In other words, all the gifts in your life, including the hope and perseverance you’ve learned through trials, have come from God’s good hands. The place where you live, the gifts and skills you use in your daily life, the relationships you enjoy, and those circumstances you count as blessings–all are God’s grace to you.
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who hopes in him. Most of us have never experienced this goodness that we are talking about, what I mean is that they can’t say that they are so blessed that their cup is full of blessings and it’s overflowing according to Psalms 23:5.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, . . .” (Luke 6:45).
2 Corinthians 6: 18 If you are a son or a daughter why are you not seeing this goodness of God? It could be because you have never known of this goodness, and where to find it. Remember just as you have a unique DNA and name you have to come by yourself boldly to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16) where you can find this goodness and taste it yourself, otherwise, no one will do it for you.
Yes, you might see him in the lives of others through testimonies but that is not good enough you still have to have your own encounters. Unless you do it by yourself then if you let others do it for you, they might give you the wrong picture of God’s goodness because some of these so-called apostles, prophets, and pastors are false according to Jeremiah 14:14 and hence they are not even connected to God’s Kingdom leave alone representing Him at any capacity.
According to Daniel 11:3, “… but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” Brethren do you know God, for him to do those exploits you want?
Did you know that most of us have missed this goodness of God because we have gotten used to it to the point that it’s not a big deal and hence, we take God’s goodness for granted?
For instance, if a poor person who can’t afford health care gets healed of a certain disease, he will keep on testifying of God’s goodness everywhere he goes. But to a rich person, this may not be God’s goodness since he can afford to pay for it, so it’s not a big deal.
Others have gotten so used to operating where there is no God’s goodness that it’s very normal to operate without it; hence, when they get a little of this goodness of God, they forget to go the extra mile to get their full goodness. Which of these two do you fall in?
Others feel it’s their right, and if they get a slight disappointment here and there, then they forget all that the Lord had done for them before. Just like in the case of Job’s wife who was ready to curse God due to her circumstances. Peter even denied Jesus because of his circumstances. Thomas even doubted Jesus because of how Jesus appeared to him.
According to Luke 2:21-33, we learn that when baby Jesus was presented to the temple for baby purification the couple did not have the lamb which was required for purification rights, so we see that his parents brought 2 doves according to Leviticus 12:6,8. This tells us that Jesus’ parents were not so rich, some people in the temple might have missed their savior and goodness due to this. But despite all this Simon knew when God’s goodness was present in the house, and he took advantage of that. Yes, Jesus’ parents didn’t have the lamb to offer because Jesus was the Lamb himself.
Sometimes the people who have a connection with the Lamb are those people who seem to have nothing and even might be poor and outcast people like young David, Joseph, the widow of Zarephath, etc. These are the people who don’t miss God’s goodness.
Sometimes when we can’t afford our lamb it pushes the opportunity for the Lamb of God to take root in our hearts. 1 Samuel 15:11- 13,16,17 Have you ever noticed that when in need we pray so much as compared to when we are loaded and blessed with stuff? That is why God rebuked King Saul for forgetting how God took him from a humble being to a King.
Most of us in our comfort we pray those microwave prayers, and we even don’t fast at all, and reading the bible is a waste of time.
According to Matthew 11:2-4, sometimes familiarity with the men of God might make you miss what they are carrying matthew 10:40 .Simply because they grew together didn’t change the fact that he was the Messiah. Yes, the man of God might be poor and not meet your humanly standard (the big house, car, money etc) but that doesn’t make him less of the Messager of God. We are more concerned with the packaging than the gift inside the packaging.
For instance, according to 2 Kings 2:23-24, these boys didn’t see anything special with Elisha and hence they missed what he represented and carried. The same is the case for Jesus when he went into his hometown, they didn’t receive him as the Messiah who he was (Mark 6:2-5).
To these people they expected Jesus to arrive as a king with all the power and resources and that is why they missed him. Simply because things are not what you want doesn’t mean God’s goodness isn’t there just ask the Lord to open your eyes to see.
Sometimes the enemy will try to convince you that nothing good is coming your way and that all the trouble you are facing is God’s fault. That is so not true. The Word demonstrates from Genesis through to Revelation God’s love for you and me along with His willingness, ability and availability to express His loving kindness to us. Therefore, any difficulties you experience in life do not come from God but from the enemy of our souls.
No matter who we are or where we live on this earth, difficulties with come. However, there are few things I would like to encourage you with:
- Remember that God has your best interest to heart. He has a great future planned for you (Jer. 29:11).
- Whatever you are facing it is only temporary. There is an expiration date on your problem.
- God is actively working for you. God will turn every evil plan of the enemy around for your benefit.
- The Lord is willing to give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) so don’t hesitate to ask.
Realizing God’s goodness positions us to walk in obedience to enter into our destiny.
God’s goodness During Trials and Temptations.
In your difficulties, he is still there according to Isaiah 43:2 the fire you see in your difficulties is there to burn the limitations you have so that you can be free, just like in the case of Daniel (Daniel 3:21-25). Sometimes our expectations and what God does or how he answers our prayers might not be what we expect.
We have put God in our small boxes forgetting that God’s ways or thoughts are not our own according to Isaiah 55:8-9. So, we always want to order and boss God around, God this is what I want you to do, my way and not any other way. We forget that God has to look into the interest of others also before he answers Is it going to interfere with the other people’s interests or not?
There was a time in my life when nothing seemed to be working for me. I had financial challenges, relationship issues and work pressures. I felt weighted and burdened by life. As a result, I wasn’t expecting anything good and I didn’t think anything good was about to happen. Regardless of how I felt, I kept pushing through each day – work, family, church and whatever else I had to do.
A Person may be asking: I’m struggling as a Christian to believe that God is good when it feels like he doesn’t care and he doesn’t help. How can I get through this period of doubt?
First, it’s tempting to think that we only struggle with the question of God’s goodness when things go wrong in our lives. But Eve doubted God’s goodness even in the midst of Paradise. There was no suffering to tempt Eve to doubt God’s character and yet still she decided not to submit to God’s truth or trust his goodness when she ate the forbidden fruit.
Don’t beat yourself up. Honest people acknowledge that they often struggle to believe God’s goodness toward them while they’re suffering. God is good, no matter what.
A hard truth that we as Christians deal with in our faith is that evil, destruction, hatred, wickedness, struggles, hardships, and trials still occur in the world around us, in our own lives, and in the lives of those we love. It’s easy to fall into a mindset that God doesn’t care, that His goodness is absent in times of evil. You may even be asking, how is God fully good when He allows such evil to exist? Is God good? This is a HARD topic for many of us. But I want to bring some light and encouragement to this topic with the goal that your trust and faith in the Lord grows deeper and stronger.
God is good. We see His goodness in the smallest details to the biggest phenomenon. God’s goodness is played out continually and daily both amidst and in the evil that thrives in this world. When we choose to dwell on His goodness, we cannot help but see it. If you’re questioning God’s goodness in this moment, stop for a moment and dwell deeply on the ways He has shown His goodness to you today, this week, this month, this year, or the last 10 years.
So if God is fully good and fully sovereign, how can He allow such evil to exist? If God’s plan is good, why is evil part of it? How is He fully good if He allows evil?
God is not just out to get you
“I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” –Psalm 27:13
Here’s where it gets real.
If you believe that everyone gets sick to die or that God could put some disease on you at any moment to teach you something, you’re not expecting His goodness to manifest. You’re expecting the devil!
And by the way, God doesn’t use sickness to teach people, just as you wouldn’t make your own kid sick to teach him something. He uses His Word! He also uses His still, small voice and the Holy Spirit.
If you need money to pay the bills and you’re up all night panicking, stressing, crying…why? How would you feel if your children—under your care in your home where you’ve always fed them, clothed them and blessed them—panicked whenever they had a need? But kids don’t usually do that, do they? They EXPECT you to care for them. They treat you like they can count on you because you have a reputation of being good to them.
Well, God has a reputation, too, and it’s far better than any of ours. Expect His goodness to manifest in your life—EVERY part of your life. Blessings and miracles don’t come without faith—that’s simple spiritual law. So, you’ve got to get your faith up to the boiling point until it overflows. That’s how you will begin to live in the goodness of God.
I have to remind myself of God’s goodness.
Scripture never guarantees us a problem free existence. In fact, Jesus made it quite clear in the Gospel of John 16 that “…In this world you will have trouble…” (John 16:33) and it’s when you’re in the middle of those tough times that you may very well find yourself asking, “If God is good, why does He allow bad things to happen?” This is a natural response when life is turned upside down. It’s hard to sing about a good Father when you’re in the middle of difficult circumstances.
I look to the Bible for hope and inspiration and I find that God doesn’t promise fame and/or fortune and/or pain-free smooth sailing.He simply asks me to trust him and to be faithful as life unfolds. Even when I don’t understand. When I absolutely want to know more. Especially when the outcome looks bleak.
I question, Not with my eternal future but with my RIGHT NOW circumstances. If you question, look no further than your Bible. But then …
Men and women in the center of God’s will and calling were met with opposition, ridicule, torment and anguish. But they didn’t stop proclaiming God’s goodness. And neither should we.
Noah was called to build an arc to escape the destruction of the world. He trusted God for 120 years. The rains came but then Noah floated to safety.
Abraham was promised an heir, but got old waiting. He trusted God for 25 years but then he got his son Isaac.
Joseph was kidnapped, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. He trusted God for 20-odd years but then he rose to second in command of Egypt putting him in a position to save his family from starvation.
David was anointed to be king. He trusted God for 25 years but then he was appointed as the king over all Israel.
Mary trusted God through the gossip and ridicule and the arduous trip to Bethlehem. But then, she gave birth to the Savior of the world.
Paul trusted God for decades, through shipwrecks, stonings, beatings and humiliation, but then God used his experiences and wisdom to write half the New Testament.
Even Jesus had to face difficult and painful things while on earth. He was tortured and endured a painful, unjust death. However, His death and resurrection made a way for us to be reconciled with God. Through something that seemed bad, God was able to do something very good.
Sometimes, you will be able to look back at painful seasons in your life and see how God ultimately used them for good. Other times, you will never fully understand the purpose of what you’ve had to endure. That’s when we have to trust that God sees more than we can see. He knows more than we know. He works in ways beyond our comprehension. And if we agree to follow Him only when we understand what He’s doing, we’ll always stop short of experiencing His inexplicable wonders.
We are living in a broken world, and sadly bad things do happen to good people, but I want to encourage you with the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Church at Rome:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39)
Despite what’s happening around us, or even to us, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. I can trust him for His timing, provision and protection until I see the fullness of his faithfulness. Or, I can quit on His calling. Circumvent His plan. Foil my future. Miss out on experiencing His pleasure.
I choose to trust Him. Even if it means repeating, “I trust you, God. I trust you, God. I trust you, God. I trust you, God,” until the anxiety, worry, fear, or sorrow subsides. Ten thousand times a day if necessary. You may need to do that, too.
God’s Goodness Is The Best
Did you know that there are categories of God’s goodness that are beyond our understanding and if we let God help us in the process of selection, He might give us the best? So, take off the limitation from God, it’s not a must that God will show His goodness to you in a particular way, or in a particular place, or through a particular person. Sometimes you might miss one opportunity only to end up with a better one simply because God showed you a great part of His goodness.
Psalm 18:30 reminds us, “As for God, his way is perfect..” I can’t help but wonder about the many times we have missed out on God’s blessing by refusing to obey him because we refused to believe that his way is perfect. It’s time we realize that God is good. God’s way may not feel like the best way, but his way is always the best.
Simon Peter’s first encounter with Jesus is a perfect example to remind us to trust in what Jesus is calling us to do. In Luke 5 we see Jesus asking Simon Peter to set sail to deep waters to fish again. Simon Peter had just spent the whole night trying to catch fish but caught nothing.
His response to Jesus was, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5). Simon was exhausted, and the way he responded certainly showed that he did not feel Jesus’s idea was a good idea. But despite the doubts and hesitant feelings, Simon Peter did it anyway. What was the outcome of Simon’s obedience? Overwhelming blessing.
They caught so much fish that the net began to break (Luke 5:6). Luke 5:8-9 says, “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus… For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught..” Simon Peter came to the realization of God’s goodness.
If he had followed his feelings and not listened to Jesus, he would never have been in the position he was in – at the feet of Jesus in complete awe of his power. Maybe you’re like Simon Peter, who thought Jesus’s idea was not a good idea. But just because God’s way doesn’t feel good doesn’t mean it’s not good. Believe that God is always for your good.
God wants to overwhelm you with his goodness and blessing, but it starts with your obedience. Will you respond to Jesus like Simon Peter, and say, “because you say so, I will do it“?
If you haven’t seen the hand of God move in your life, now is your chance to see God’s goodness pour out in your life. And if you have seen God move in your life, believe that you will see him do it again.
Will you follow what Jesus is asking you to do, despite your feelings and doubts? Will you come to the realization of this simple truth, that God is always for your good?
You don’t have to be afraid of what is to come. As long as you are walking with God, his goodness will always follow your life. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life..”
There is nothing better than living in the will of God. So remember, realize God’s goodness.
How can I know when I am about to receive God’s Goodness?
1. God will tend to take away all those false senses of goodness to prepare the capacity to accommodate his goodness. When our hands are holding unto those fake pearls, we can’t receive the real ones. That is why God calls us to come to him in Isaiah 1:18 and he promises to first clean us so that we can receive his goodness. Be sure before you receive this goodness God will strip you of all those false godly goodness according to Jonah 2:8-10 first.
2. When you start to distinguish lies and even half lies told by others using the truth of God’s bible. Remember if you do this you will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13).
3. According to Hebrews 12: 1-3 If God is increasing your capacity to sacrifice for God and in return for others then you are about to receive his goodness.
The way the world sees God’s goodness is not the same as God sees it. The world has a plan B which might not be supported by the Bible whereby you do this at whatever cost that is not what we are talking of.
I give thanks to the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures forever. – Psalms 107:1
How can you remind yourself of God’s goodness?
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34-35)
The goodness of God is the great overcomer of the curse. The curse is anything that causes darkness in our lives—sickness, disease, poverty, lack, depression, addiction, strife, loneliness or anything else like them. The goodness of God—or THE BLESSING—is a light, and once a light is switched on, all darkness disappears instantly. That’s what you can expect in your life.
But…as long as you’re in fear, doubt, worry or unbelief, you’re in the way. A lack of faith will keep the switch from being turned on and THE BLESSING of God from permeating your situation. Faith in His goodness makes way for healing in your body, mind and emotions. It clears the path of every hindrance or delay.
There certainly are other ways than reading the Bible but it certainly is one of the best and quickest ways for sure. Worship, prayer, fellowship are all good ways to be reminded of God’s goodness. But counting your blessings is also another way. When we learn to see God’s handiwork in our lives and in nature we are reminded of God’s goodness.
Never forget that Romans 2:4 reminds us that God’s kindness and goodness are there to lead us to repentance. But what if you went beyond repentance?
Prayer:
Father, it is not humanly possible for me to be good on my own, but I know that You can show me how to be both kind and good. I submit to You; lead me in Your ways. Mold me so that I can become more like You, reflecting Your character. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Nathaniel
