GOD IS GOOD

READ

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” Nahum 1:7

CONSIDER

God is good. God is not keeping you from your best life. God is not a divine curmudgeon.

God is good. What do Christians mean when we say that? According to Nahum, it is in God’s very nature to be good and to do good things. “The Lord is good.” Think about that. God doesn’t have to do anything contradictory to his nature to be good. He doesn’t have to work himself into a particular mood, in order to be favorable toward us. Rather, he is inherently and completely good.

How much would it change your relationship with someone if you were certain they would always be good to you?

You would enjoy their presence and seek more opportunities to spend time with them.
You would be more likely to ask them for help when you need it.
You wouldn’t fear that they will reject you or ignore you.

It is in God’s nature to be good, do good, and give good things. If you believe God is good, then the good life is one lived in fellowship with him.

The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex. 20:3). According to Martin Luther, “To have a god means this: You expect to receive all good things from it and turn to it in every time of trouble.” God doesn’t want us to look to anything or anyone else for goodness outside of him.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob cannot and will not be rivaled when it comes to goodness.

In a consumer-driven culture, we often make “other gods” out of possessions and pleasures. If you visit parts of the world where Christianity is growing fastest (Asia, Latin America, and Africa), the Christians are often materially poor. The places where Christianity is declining are more affluent countries such as those in Western Europe and the United States. Why? Because we replace God with things he’s given us, exchanging the Creator for created things. Instead of looking to God to enjoy goodness, we look to money and pleasure.

The primary technique of Satan has been to convince us that God is not of himself good, and that God is actually withholding good things from us because he doesn’t want us to have them.
It was the technique he used when tempting Eve. “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Gen. 3:4-5). Eve was tempted to believe that God was withholding good from her.

It was the technique Satan used when tempting Christ. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” (Matt. 4:8-9). Christ was tempted to believe he could attain good apart from the cross.
Jesus knows what it is like to hold firmly to promises of God’s goodness in the face of suffering. Jesus was obedient unto death because he believed God is good. He went to the cross believing it. We can know God is good even in the face of our own suffering because Jesus is risen from the dead.

“The good life is living in fellowship with God, who is good by his very nature. According to Charles Spurgeon, We must never tolerate an instant’s unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord: whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; his dispensations may vary, but his nature is always the same.”

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PRAY

Gracious God, you are good! Praise be to you that you can never be other than the way you are. Because you are good and you are eternal, you will forever and always be good! Help me on the best days and worst days to believe you are good! Thank you for the gift of your Son and Spirit. Let me today take refuge in you and know your goodness.