NIV 365-Day Devotional Plan (2017)Sample

Is God Good?

The God of the Bible is the only true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the one all-powerful, all-knowing eternal God. But is he good? Is he involved in his creation? Does he love us? Does he have a plan for us? Is he interceding and intervening to move the events of our life and world toward his intended purpose? Consider the following and decide for yourself.

A biblical character in whose life we see how much God is involved and cares about his people is David, the poet, singer, shepherd, warrior and king, who wrote and sang from a deep well as he journeyed through life and encountered the one true God. David composed many of the psalms found in our Bible. David wrote as a shepherd boy while gazing at the billions of stars God created; he wrote while being chased down by King Saul; he wrote while he was king of Israel; and he wrote as he was coming to the end of his life on earth. The songs that David and the other psalmists wrote express their personal and intimate relationships with God.

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

(Psalm 139:1-6)

KEY VERSE

I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)

KEY IDEA

I believe God is involved in and cares about my daily life.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live?

How can believing this truth about God as a personal and good God — not only in our mind (understanding) but also in our heart — guide the way we live?

1. God's ways are higher than our ways.

We are tempted to make frantic decisions because we can't see our way. We can't see around the next bend in the road. God's ways are higher than our ways, because he is seated above on his throne. When we feel that we don't understand God's instruction in his Word, we must remember that he sees things from above and we don't. [See Isaiah 55:8-9.]

2. God, who controls nature and history, knows and cares about us.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus conveyed God's care for his children. These words about a loving Father paint a vivid picture of a God who is not out to get us, but rather to redeem us. He is not out to destroy us, but rather to restore us.

Taken from NIV Believe