Enduring Hope: Trusting God When the Future Is UncertainSample

The Goodness of God

Read: Ruth 1; 4:14–22; Matthew 7:7–11

SOAP: Matthew 7:11

If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Into the Text

We serve a good God. He never changes. But sometimes, life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. How do we reconcile our difficulties with God’s goodness in those times? How do we know that He really cares about us when we don’t feel like anything that’s happening to us could possibly be good?

Naomi had experienced incredible loss. She knew who God was, she was convinced of His character—that He was sovereign, ever-present, and good—but she had stopped believing He was good to her. She’d lost her husband, her sons, her home, and one of her daughters-in-law. She had to return to her people with nothing, utterly humiliated. She planned to return alone, but Ruth refused to leave her. Now, she had to find a way to provide for both of them. How could God possibly be good to her and give her good gifts when this was her situation?

Naomi became bitter (as any of us would) because of the magnitude of the loss she experienced. I wonder how many of us have lost our faith in God’s goodness in a season of loss or grief. It is easy to do. But God always has a plan for our good. He is always working. After recording Naomi’s words, the author of the Book of Ruth foreshadowed the next events, showing us that God was not finished with her story.

God is not finished with your story either. We know the end of Naomi’s story—that the daughter-in-law who stayed with her turned out to be better than seven sons—but we don’t know how our stories will turn out. We may not see the way our loss will be a good gift until eternity. But you can rest in this: Your God is still good.

Whether you are overwhelmed by bitterness or joy, God’s goodness never changes. God doesn’t need you to believe that He is good in order for Him to be good. But He has promised special grace and help to those who call on Him and trust Him. He will fill us with peace in the midst of the hard times as we rest in His goodness.