Goodness

December 22

Haggai 1-2

Psalm 145:8-13

Proverbs 30:21-23

Revelation 14:1-14

Goodness

“The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made.  The Lord helps all who fall; He raises up all who are oppressed.”  Psalm 145:9, 14 HCSB

The goodness of God does not fit our understanding of goodness.  We think of good as the opposite of bad.  We describe people as good because of the things that they do, and we describe things as being good if they are enjoyable to us or satisfy a desire.  We would say that a pizza is good if we like the way it tastes, a nap is good if it gives us much-needed rest, or our child is good if they obey us.  God’s goodness is not based on His actions or His ability to make us happy.  God’s goodness is His character.  Good is who God is.  He is morally excellent and everything He does is perfect.  His goodness is indescribable and beyond what we can even comprehend.  Good began with God.  He set the standard for goodness and perfection.  Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” (HCSB) His goodness extends to all His creation.  He is not just good to His children who love Him.  He is good to everyone.  He cannot be anything other than good.  It is just who He is.  As humans, we are not typically good, loving, compassionate, and merciful to people who reject us or treat us badly.  God extends grace and mercy to everyone.  His desire is that everyone would accept Him, so He forgives over and over.  He continues to love faithfully even when He is rejected.  Every time we call on Him, He is there to help.  Everyone who seeks Him, finds Him.  No one has ever exhausted their opportunity to receive His pardon.  Everyone who has breath can still receive His mercy.  In all human history, He has never said no to anyone who comes to Him with a sincere heart.  The serial killer, rapist, terrorist, or child molester who repents and asks for His forgiveness is welcome at the foot of the cross.  No one is too far gone.  No one is beyond redemption.   His goodness is available to all. 

His goodness is also generous.  It goes beyond practical, physical needs. When we sin, He forgives us.  When we are weak and weary, He gives us strength and perseverance.  When we are afraid, He gives us courage and assures us that He is with us.  When we need wisdom, He gives us clarity and answers.  When we fall, He is there to pick us up and help us move forward.  When we are oppressed, unfairly treated, or rejected, He raises us up to walk with Him.  He provides everything we need every time we have a need.  The good that He provides is not always what we ask for because His “good” is perfect.  He will not give us anything less than what is best for us.  If He always gave us what we wanted, He would not be good because, in His sovereignty, He can see the consequences of His gifts.  If He gave us something that is not for our good, then He would cease to be good.  His discipline and wrath are just as much an expression of His goodness as His forgiveness and mercy.  There is a lady in our neighborhood that walks every day carrying a walking stick.  She is older than me, but not elderly.  I asked one of our neighbors if she has it because she is unsteady.  That is part of the reason, but apparently, she was attacked by a dog a couple of years ago, so she uses the walking stick to protect herself.  God’s goodness is like that walking stick for us.  We can lean on it and use it to steady ourselves on our journey through life.  We can rely on His goodness to provide what we need to keep us going and hold us up.  We can also use it to protect us against Satan’s attacks.  We can fight off doubt and worry with confidence in His goodness and mercy.  God is good all the time.  And all the time God is good.