He Is Good

September 21

Isaiah 34-36

Psalm 106:1-5

Proverbs 23:12-14

Colossians 3:1-17

He Is Good

“Praise the Lord!  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” 

Psalm 106:1 NIV

“God is good all the time and all the time God is good” is a common expression of faith in Christianity.  It is a statement of faith and trust in a loving God whose character is only good.  He is light, not darkness.  He is truth, not lies.  He is love, not hate.  It is difficult to understand this when we are suffering, so it is important to examine the lives of those in the Bible who were able to maintain their faith in the goodness of God when they were experiencing hardship and pain.  Job faced tremendous loss and difficulty and yet he expressed faith in the goodness and justice of God.  (Job 13:15)  Paul endured persecution for the sake of Christ and was able to persevere because of his confidence in God’s goodness and His belief that God was working all things out for his good.  (Romans 8:28, 2 Timothy 1:12)  They each believed that God is inherently good, loving and trustworthy even when their circumstances seemed to contradict this.  They also recognized that even when they didn’t understand what God was doing or how He was working, they could trust Him because they knew His character and could rely on His faithfulness.  Because He is good, He always does the best thing in every circumstance.  Sometimes the best thing is not the thing that we want.  Sometimes the best thing is painful and difficult.  As a parent, it is difficult to let our children suffer the consequences of their bad choices, but it is necessary for their maturity and growth so that they won’t repeat those decisions. Sometimes the lesson isn’t for us, but for the good of someone else.  The pain we experience will help someone else grow closer to God. Paul understood that the persecution he experienced led to the furthering of the gospel so that others could hear about Jesus.  We don’t always get to know the reason for difficulties we have to endure.  This side of heaven we often don’t get the answers to our “why” questions, but we can trust that in His goodness and mercy, there is a reason and a purpose.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28 LSB 

We can also be confident that God is good all the time.  He isn’t good some of the time, but all of the time.  “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”  James 1:16-17 LSB  There is no variation or change in God’s character.  He is the same yesterday, today and for eternity.  (Hebrews 13:8)  He cannot be anything but good.  There are numerous verses about the goodness of God that can be a source of encouragement, comfort and strength for the believer to help them persevere and maintain faith in God  (Psalm 23, 27:13, 31:19-20, 34:8, 100:5, 107:1, Lamentations 3:22-26, Nahum 1:7, Matthew 7:11, John 10:11).