A Table in the Wilderness: A Study on God's GoodnessSample

When I Need to Be Rescued

We’re told that God is good all the time, and we believe it up to a point. Yet, I’ve caught myself, again and again, utterly surprised when God reveals His goodness. It isn't that I don’t believe God is good, but I often struggle to believe that He is good to me!

Part of the problem is that we frequently link God’s goodness to our desired outcomes. We pray with bated breath, hoping that God will actually answer us. We’re delighted by His goodness when He gives us what we want. But God’s goodness is far better than the things He provides for us. God’s goodness is Himself. God’s goodness is His presence. God’s goodness is ours whether or not He gives us what we ask for.

We see this in the story of the people of Israel, who spent four hundred years in Egypt, mostly as slaves. They wanted out of Egypt by the time we pick up their story in Exodus. They were desperate for a savior—any savior.

In Exodus 3, God finally called a deliverer, Moses, to lead the people out of Egypt, fully aware that there would be massive resistance from the king of Egypt, Pharaoh. The pages of Scripture that lead up to Exodus 12 describe nine plagues with which God revealed His power to His people and the Egyptians.

The people of Egypt were slow to understand the extent of who God is. Though they saw God's great works, the people of Israel had a hard time fully comprehending His awesome power, and they feared they would remain stuck in Egypt forever.

All along, God was setting up the final plague; this plague led to the first Passover meal, symbolizing God’s saving power for His people.

God heard the Israelites’ cry for help. He knew their pain. And He had a plan to rescue them.

While we might think that God has forgotten about us in our waiting, the truth is that God is just getting started with us when we reach our point of desperation. God’s goodness is best seen when our pain is most palpable.

How does knowing that God heard the people of Israel give you hope today?