THE GOODNESS OF GOD

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This post was by Randy Alcorn on http://www.patheos.com which was adapted from his book If God is Good. Let me also recommend Randy’s book If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt? Make sure you click on this video below before you read the post.

A dear friend sent me this video. If you don’t have time to read the article below, just listen to the wonderful song on YouTube, which this little boy makes come alive.

What a powerful reminder that God is the Greatest Good and the source of all lesser goods: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17). Wayne Grudem says in Systematic Theology, “The goodness of God means that God is the final standard of good and that all that God is and does is worthy of approval.”

Scripture contains many direct affirmations of God’s goodness, such as:

“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.” Psalm 25:8

“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.” Psalm 119:68

“Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” Jeremiah 33:11

“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” Nahum 1:7

God extends His goodness to His people.

God’s goodness entails a number of His other attributes. Grudem also says in Systematic Theology, “God’s mercy is his goodness toward those in distress, his grace is his goodness toward those who deserve only punishment, and his patience is his goodness toward those who continue to sin over a period of time.”

God’s goodness is linked to His love: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23:6). His goodness also connects with His holiness: “We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple” (Psalm 65:4). “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you” (Psalm 31:19). God has stored up His goodness for those who fear Him. That means in the future He plans to bestow upon us a storehouse full of goodness.

God manifests His goodness to all people.

God does not restrict His goodness to believers only. He is good to all His creatures: “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9); “He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17; see also Matthew 5:45).

God grants His goodness to humanity at large, manifested in both nature and culture, in such good things as animals, forests, rivers, music, art, and sports.

To say that God is good is not to say God will always appear to be good, or that when He is good we will always like Him for it.

Consider the anguished cry of Jeremiah: “He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship” (Lamentations 3:2–5).

This outcry doesn’t appear to affirm God’s goodness, does it? Jeremiah sounds like Epicurus or David Hume. It seems remarkable that God would include in His inspired Word such human displays of confusion and frustration.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan the Lion is safe. “Who said anything about safe?” Mr. Beaver answers. “’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

This is sound theology—God can be good without being safe; He can be loving without bowing to our every wish or desire.

All arguments to the contrary, God is utterly good and worthy to receive our worship.

In Deserted by God, Sinclair Ferguson tells the story of English missionary Allen Gardiner. In January 1852, a search party found Gardiner’s lifeless body. He and his companions had shipwrecked on Tierra del Fuego. Their provisions had run out. They starved to death.

Gardiner, at one point, felt desperate for water; his pangs of thirst, he wrote, were “almost intolerable.” Far from home and loved ones, he died alone, isolated, weakened, and physically broken.

Isn’t this one of those stories told to raise the problem of evil and suffering? Indeed, if the story ended like this, we would find it tragic beyond description.

Despite the wretched conditions of his death, Gardiner wrote out Scripture passages, including Psalm 34:10: “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing” (KJV). Near death, his handwriting feeble, Gardiner managed to write one final entry into his journal: “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.”

https://youtu.be/oLvuckwJxPA?si=mosHLhPNAoipFxiO

ACKNOWLEDGING GOD’S GOODNESS

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During the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on Sunday, Sydney McLaughlin broke the world record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, giving all of the glory to God. McLaughlin, 21, recorded a time of 51.90 seconds and became the first woman to run the event in under the 52-second mark. She beat defending Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad’s previous time of 52.16, Sports Spectrum reports.

McLaughlin recalled the moment she crossed the line during a post-race interview.  

“All the glory to God,” McLaughlin told NBC Sports. “Honestly, this season just working with my new coach and my new support system, it’s truly just faith and trusting the process. I couldn’t ask for anything more and truly it is all a gift from God.”

AP Photo/Ashley Landis
‘A Gift From God’: Sydney McLaughlin Breaks 400 Meter Hurdles World Record to Win U.S. Olympic Trials

When she compared this race with previous competitions against Muhammad, McLaughlin pointed out that the most important difference was placing her faith in her Lord and Saviour.  

“Dalilah’s a great competitor,” McLaughlin said. “I think I was growing into my own person. And I think the biggest difference this year is my faith, trusting God and trusting that process, and knowing that He’s in control of everything. As long as I put the hard work in, He’s going to carry me through. And I really cannot do anything more but give the glory to Him at this point.”

On Monday, McLaughlin continued to direct the focus on God while reflecting on her victory.

“I just kept hearing God say, ‘Just focus on me.’ It was the best race plan I could have ever assembled,” she wrote on Instagram. “I no longer run for self-recognition, but to reflect His perfect will that is already set in stone. I don’t deserve anything. But by grace, through faith, Jesus has given me everything. Records come and go. The glory of God is eternal. Thank you Father.”

CAN WE BE JOYFUL IN SUFFERING?

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:18-20

God hates evil and He commands us to hate it as well so so these verses certainly don’t mean we are to rejoice in evil, per se, However, we should believe Romans 8:28, which tells us God will work all things together for our good, including evil things that happen to us.

Believing this frees us to thank God in the middle of difficult and even evil circumstances, knowing that in His sovereign grace, He is accomplishing great, eternal purposes in us through these things. We walk by faith, believing in what God has done, is doing, and will do to bring a good end to all that troubles us. Choosing to rejoice, recounting our blessings in the midst of trials, affirms trust in God.

This response requires faith that God lovingly superintends our challenges. Viewing our sufferings as random or obsessing over someone else’s bad choices that caused our sufferings robs us of happiness. A weak, small, or faulty view of God always poisons the well of our contentment.

Being Spirit controlled is inseparable from giving thanks in everything. The more we grow in our understanding of God’s attributes, the happier we become.

.The deeper our knowledge of God’s character, the deeper our reservoir of strength, perspective, and happiness in hard times. Who is this God we are to trust? What is He really like?

Scripture teaches that we have a God who loves us and is sovereign over the universe, including all evil. We can’t be happy, and remain happy, without believing in the sovereignty of a loving God. The beauty of the Christian worldview is that while we’re encouraged to take initiative and control what’s within our power, we also know that the enormous part of life we can’t control is under God’s governance.

Scripture tells us, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” Psalm 115:3. It assures us, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9. And since God is eternally wise and good and happy, and we’re not, we’re far better off with Him, not us, in control.

“Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.

“In light of that eternal glory being achieved for us by our momentary troubles, Paul offers the following words of eternal perspective: “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” 2 Corinthians 4:1

This article is excerpted from Randy Alcorn’s book Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

Addendum: When times are difficult, hard, and bring sorrow, then remember, chose to bring to mind, the wonderful deliverance Jesus has achieved for you. Then put on the garment of praise.  The spirit of heaviness will depart – no need to let things depress us and get us down. He will never leave us nor forsake us, He will bring good out of every situation for us. God is good. Sometimes it takes effort to start to praise God – especially if we come from a dark place, a place of difficulty or even a place of tragedy. Yet be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and sing and shout your praises to God, breakthrough into the inexpressible joy of the Lord – it is the place of strength for life.

IS GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE ALWAYS ON YOUR MIND?

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Romans 8:28 informs us Christians, that in each and every part of our life, God is at work? These things work together or cooperate to produce a greater effect than they could individually. God works through all things in concert together.

God is always orchestrating everything in our lives to work together for our benefit. He sets His heart toward all of us who love Him intimately and pursue Him passionately. God’s intention and will is always good and always best for us. Everything that happens to you is not necessarily good, but God uses everything for your ultimate good.

Regardless of who you are, where you are or what you do in your life, if you are a Christian, God’s Holy Spirit is always moving you to His eternal high purpose: Making you more like Jesus Christ.

He created you to live your life with God’s purpose always on your mind, becoming like Jesus Christ.

The only way you will ever feel fulfilled is to know that God is always lovingly using everything in your life to make you more like Jesus Christ, for His glory.

We must believe nothing can hinder God’s purpose for our lives. Job trusted this because he knew God could do anything. Do you? While some people may experience a level of restoration as Job did, others may live to the end faithfully, yet lose their lives as mentioned in Hebrews 11. For both groups, the ultimate promise is that God’s eternal purposes will come to fruition.

This article was inspired by an article by Ronnie Floyd, Why Nothing Can Hinder God’s Purpose in Your Life. He  is the President of the National Day of Prayer.