If there is one truth above all others that has changed my life, it is this – God is good. A few years ago, I was teaching a class at a prison. Several times, I made the remark, “God is good.” The guys would then say, “all the time!” That wasn’t the first time I had heard that saying spoken out. I had heard it in church gatherings too. Many times. It has always bothered me. Not that there is anything wrong with that statement. It is true. God is good all the time. What bothers me is the fact that “all the time” ever had to be added on to it in the first place. I’m not completely sure why it was added, but I suspect it was due to a belief that God wasn’t good all the time. Sometimes He could be good and sometimes he could be mad, depending on what kind of mood He was in that day.
But I have a greater suspicion that it was meant to correct a misunderstanding of the very nature of God. When I say, “God is good”, I’m saying that is who He is.
Can you imagine how it would sound if I was introduced to a crowd and this happened? “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Kevin.” The crowd responds, “all the time!” That would be absurd. Of course I’m Kevin all the time!
There is no aspect of God’s nature that has been more misrepresented than that of His goodness. For example, He has been accused of putting diseases on people, causing automobile accidents, sending deadly storms, earthquakes, and the list goes on. If you or I, as parents, were to do anything like that to one of our children, we would be arrested for child abuse!
We need look no further than Jesus Christ to see what the goodness of God looks like. Jesus was the exact representation of the Father (Heb.1:3) and we know what he did with sickness and storms.
“Whatever you think you know about God that you can’t find in the person of Jesus you have reason to question. Jesus Christ is the fullest and most precise revelation of the Father and His nature that could ever be made known.”
Bill Johnson
It is quite telling that Jesus healed everyone who came to Him for that purpose, yet we create whole doctrines of belief (or unbelief) over the fact that someone didn’t get healed when we prayed for them. Why aren’t all those who are sick healed when we pray for them? I don’t know. Why are innocent children killed? I don’t know. Why do bad things happen to good people? I don’t know.
This I do know – The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever. That will be the thought I choose to think when I’m faced with adversity. I will agree with David when he said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” I choose to remember this – No matter what happens, He is good.
When I realize that I can walk into any situation where there is seemingly the absence of good and bring good in, change happens. In order for this to be a reality, we need to constantly be aware of His goodness to us. How can we maintain this awareness?
By remembering.
Memories are powerful. Painful memories can drive us into depression and hopelessness, distorting our view of God’s goodness. Memories of the faithfulness of God and the times He has saved, healed and delivered give us hope. We transmit that hope to others by declaring those testimonies, thus releasing the possibility for it to happen again.
The One who is good lives in me. I have the privilege and responsibility to release that goodness wherever I go. I challenge you to keep a journal of the good things God has done for you and talk about them. And then be ready to be put in places where those good things are needed. Someone needs to encounter this good God we boast about.
Remember the good.
Be the good.
He is good.
Kevin