TEXT:
‘For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation’ (Psalm 100:5 TLB).
When I ask people, “Do you believe in God?”, if they reply “Yes”, I follow up with another question, “What do you think God is like?”. People say God is impersonal, indifferent, a power, uncaring, judgmental, but few, if any, reply that God is good! Yet this is exactly what our text declares. Jesus said, ‘No one is good, but God’ (Mark 19:17). Today’s Teaching unpacks the truth about our good God!
1. God promises good things – ‘Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”’ (Numbers 10:29).
What a great mission statement for any church to adopt, if it really wants to reach out into the community. The invitation to come is backed up by the promise to treat well those who respond and journey together along the path God has chosen for that church.
Unfortunately, not everyone who has entered a church for the first time has felt welcomed and wanted. In fact, many experience the reverse sufficiently to ensure they never go back again. However, true believers will treat others like God has treated them.
There are wonderful promises in the Bible, but sometimes you must look to find them. Peter described them as, ‘Exceedingly great and precious promises’ (2 Peter 1:4).
2. God does good things – ‘God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?’ (Numbers 23:19 NLT).
God doesn’t make empty promises. When God was angry with the Israelites and would have destroyed them, Moses reminded God of the promise He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that their descendants would inherit the promised land, so God spared them to keep that promise (See Exodus 32:11-14).
Jesus went about doing good, because He was the true reflection of the Father. God doesn’t give us good things because we deserve them, but because He is honouring His promises. This means we can still get the benefits, those good things God has promised, even when we are undeserving. That’s the grace of God.
3. God works all things together for good – ‘He fed you with manna in the wilderness (it was a kind of bread unknown before) so that you would become humble and so that your trust in him would grow, and he could do you good’ (Deuteronomy 8:16 TLB).
‘And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans’ (Romans 8:28 TLB).
Joseph reassured his brothers he would treat them well, because even though, ‘They meant it for evil, God meant it for good’ (Genesis 50:20).
It’s amazing how God can take all our mistakes, pains, sufferings, short-comings and weave them into a beautiful picture of goodness. Just like a tapestry, we only see the threads and knots on the reverse side, but God sees a beautiful picture on the other side that’s pleasing to Him. Even when we sin, it’s God’s goodness that leads us into repentance, that we may enjoy those good things once again.
4. A thankful heart appreciates the good things God has done – ‘When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you’ (Deuteronomy 8:10 NLT).
It’s why I like to say grace, expressing my gratitude for the good food I’m about to enjoy. The Israelites wandering in the wilderness, did much complaining but showed very little thankfulness. Is that a picture of your life? Too quick to complain, too slow to say thank you. The Bible says, ‘Give thanks to the Lord for He is good’ (1 Chronicles 16:34), ‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful’ (Colossians 3:15). The more thankful we are, the more peace we’ll enjoy.
5. The goal of God’s commandments is that we may know what is good – ‘And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
God’s purpose was not to deprive Adam and Eve of anything good; He didn’t want them to experience evil! Satan’s lies convinced them otherwise. Paul’s aim when writing to the church in Rome was, ‘I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent concerning evil’ (Romans 16:19). James wrote, ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father’ (James 1:17). The more we look up, the more likely we are to see God’s goodness.
Finally, we can start each day with a bold confession about God’s goodness. We can declare:
- God is good and God is good to me
- All things are working together for good because I love God
- What I face today, even if it humbles me, hurts me and tests me, is only because there is good for me at the end.
- God is good, all the time!
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