Goodness of God

By: Keith Evans, Matthew Young, Craig Lovelace

In moments of turbulence, it is important to remember the character of God. When the rest of the world is broken, He is still good. The attribute of His goodness appears all over the Bible, even Jesus himself reminds his disciples of such things. If it was worth Jesus reminding them then, it is worth reminding us again now. Holding on to his goodness through the storm is the only way to get through turbulence.

One of the best ways to know God is good is by looking at the life of Jesus. Matthew 19:17 says, “’Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good…’” Jesus is saying that only God is good and not man. The most common question for many is, “Can God be good when life is bad?” If we aren’t completely sure if God is good, then every time something hard and bad happens in our lives we will have this cloud of doubt over us. Can I trust Him? Why did He let this happen? Does He even care? Is He paying me back for some sin I committed in the past? 

God’s goodness is evident in many ways and here are a few we can cling to in trying times.

1. God is righteous

In a broken world, suffering is promised. Hard things are going to happen to all of us in this life. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust. However, “For God so loved the world He gave His one and only son…” John 3:16.

The One who was perfect willingly took on the death we deserved. He took on death that we might receive life. That’s where you see the character and the goodness of God. When bad things happen, He’s not paying you back. He’s not angry at you. He’s not evening the score. He already settled the score on the cross. 

2. God is unchanging

“They will perish, but you remain; 

they will all wear out like a garment... 

But you remain the same, 

and your years will never end.” 

Psalm 102:26, 27. 

Jesus describes the life of a believer like a man who built his house upon a solid rock. When the storm comes, when the earth is shaken, that house will stand because it rests on a solid foundation. When life starts to shake us, our foundations reveal just how strong, or weak, they really are.

His love for us is not changing. We can rest assured that if we are in Christ, God has made a decision about you. He has called you his son or daughter and that is final. He does not change.

3. God is truthful 

Is God truthful? It's not a good question. The question itself questions God's goodness. It assumes he is a liar. Ultimately, to see everything straight you have to humble yourself and not question God. To question God means you are trying to be on the same level with him, judging him from your limited perspective. You have no firm footing on that place and you would surely fall. 

“God is not human, that he should lie,

    not a human being, that he should change his mind.

Does he speak and then not act?

    Does he promise and not fulfill. 

I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.” 

Numbers 23:19-20

We must be a people who confront the brutal facts of the world with the unrivaled goodness of God. He is not like us, He is not like this world, but He loves us and is redeeming all things through His goodness and through His son Jesus. Let us press in to know His goodness even deeper still in the days ahead.