April 5, 2024
God Is Good
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 100
One of the earliest truths a child learns in Sunday school is that God is good. The simplicity of these three words masks the depth of such a remarkable attribute of the Lord. He is absolutely perfect and holy, which means that He alone is the standard of all righteousness. And since the expression of the Father’s goodness is revealed in His actions, all that He does is just and right, because He cannot violate His own nature.
Also, God does not change. Therefore, it is His character, not our behavior, that determines how He deals with us. This means He is good to us even when we are living in rebellion. As a loving heavenly Father, He responds to our disobedience with discipline, which is designed to restore the broken relationship rather than crush the wayward child.
The Lord’s goodness is expressed in a multitude of ways. He is our Creator, and we are His people. Every breath we breathe is given to us by God. As our loving Shepherd, He watches over us and provides for all our needs. But the greatest expression of divine goodness is the cross of Jesus Christ. What humanly appeared to be the ultimate in cruelty and unfairness was the only way to rescue mankind and prevent eternal separation from the Lord.
Believing in God’s goodness is one of the pillars of our faith. This truth fills us with joy in happy times and grounds us with confidence during periods that feel hard, unfair, or painful. When we don’t understand what the Lord is doing, we can trust His heart and know that He cares for us.
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