Read Psalm 86. Today’s verse says: “Lord, you are so good to me, so kind in every way and ready to forgive” (v. 5a TPT). Today, we will focus on God being “so good to me” and you!
When you hear the word “good” or the word “goodness,” what comes to mind? For many, the goodness of God refers to the generosity of God, who supplies in abundance all that we need. For some, the goodness of God refers to the patience and mercy and grace of God. He does not give us what we deserve with regards to punishment — mercy — and He certainly gives us what we do not deserve with regards to blessing — grace. He is patient, waiting and giving us each a chance to repent (2 Peter 3:9).
Yet, when we think of God’s goodness, we should see beyond these things aforementioned— which yes, all of these things do refer to the goodness of God— yet the goodness of God also refers to His holiness, His righteousness. God is holy and right and true. There is only goodness when we look to God. There is no darkness, only Light. There is no bad, only Good. There are no lies, only Truth. There is no wrong, only Right. There is no injustice only Justice.
As children, perhaps you learned the prayer which starts out: “God is good.” It’s so easy to gloss over these words. It’s so easy to say yeah, “God is good,” but not truly live as if this is a foundational truth in your life. If we indeed accept and rest in the goodness of God, we would not declare that He tempts us (James 1:13). It should be understood that because He is good, He has provided all that we need (Philippians 4:19), that we will lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10), and that He only gives good gifts (James 1:17).
Too often, we allow for the troubles and struggles and negative things in this world to cause us to question the goodness of God. Example: My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer so how can God be good if He allows this to happen? Another example: A drunk driver crashes into a mother, leaving her children motherless, so how can God be good if He allows this to happen? These are just some of the questions we ask.
The struggles of this life and this world are real; however, this is a broken world. God may allow bad things to happen to you and your loved ones. God may allow suffering and pain and heartache and loss. It does not take away from His goodness. He is still good. He will always be good. The darkness of the world is due to the brokenness. Our heavenly Father will take that which is broken and heal, repair, restore, renew. Through Him using all things for His glory and His good purpose, we are able to see that He is good, that He is in control, and that the suffering and injustice and chaos of this world will only last for a moment (Romans 8:28).
Today, let us thank God for His goodness. Let us declare His goodness. God is good. Let us live today resting in His goodness. Amen!
Tania Gutekunst 