Counting The CostSample

GOD'S GOODNESS:

God is Great. God is Good.

As a child many of us grew up saying a blessing before dinner. “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” A simple prayer that we recited without giving much thought or consideration.

God is great. Well, of course He is. He created the heavens and the earth. He created man from the dust. He brought the dead back to life. He was crucified on a cross and three days later He rose and walked again. It would be difficult to argue God’s greatness. 

Let us thank Him for our food. God supplies our needs, maybe not all our wants, but He does provide everything we need.

And then there’s the simple line in the middle of the prayer. God is good. Have you ever questioned God’s goodness? Have circumstances in your life had you asking if God is good, then why do bad things happen?

As we hit those rocky places or events that make us question God’s goodness, and it’s guaranteed that we will have trouble in this world, we need to take a step back. We need to stop focusing on the bad in our lives and in the lives of those around us and begin training our brains to focus on the good and be thankful for it. We take so many things for granted that God, in His goodness, has given us with each new day. Small things, sometimes insignificant things. That you woke up today with breath in your lungs is a gift of his goodness. That you have food to eat, a good night’s rest, a ray of sunshine or a day with rain are all signs of His goodness. We need to take these things into account and be thankful.

We live in a world that has been broken since the fall of man in the book of Genesis. God created us in His image but has given us the free will to make choices, good and bad. We all experience the consequences of our choices. Some of us experience the consequences caused by others’ choices. And because of this brokenness, God, in His goodness, sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sin and allow us to once again have a relationship with Him. His goodness cannot be matched, and we need to approach difficult times in our lives with this truth firmly planted in our hearts. 

If things aren’t going as you had planned or when things around you are going bad, that doesn’t mean God has stopped doing good or being good. It just means He had a different plan and is working it out to get you in a place for more good to come.

Action Point:

When you find yourself in a situation where you are questioning God’s goodness, reframe your thinking to look at the circumstance or difficulty in light of God’s love for you. Remember, no matter how difficult the season seems, there is nothing He will let you experience that He will not use for your ultimate good. Rather than questioning, begin thanking Him for the blessings He has given you for that day.

Question(s):

What circumstances have you experienced that have caused you to question God’s goodness?

What can you be thankful for today that will help you recognize God’s goodness in your life?