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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.
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 good everywhere he goes. But to the rich, this is not God’s goodness since he can afford to pay for it, so it’s not a big deal.
Others have gotten so much used to operating where there is no God’s goodness until it’s very normal to operate without it and 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 goodness the Lord had done for them before. Just like in the case of Job’s wife and friends they were ready to curse God due to their 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 the 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 and hence some people in the temple might have missed their saviour 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 and that was the case of John the Baptist the cousin of Jesus. 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.
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?
Did you know that their categories of blessings that are beyond our comprehension and if we let God help has in the process, he might give us the best? So, take off the limitation from God, it’s not a must that he will bless 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.
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?
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 from 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
Pastor Nathaniel
