He promises to always be good to me, for God is always
good! Promises about the Love of God - But God demonstrates His own
Love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom.5:8)
J
The goodness of God is found throughout the Bible. His goodness is a promise we, His children,
can stand upon.
Psalm 27: 13- 14 13 I remain confident of this: I
will see the goodness of the Lord in
the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and
wait for the Lord. Land
of the living- enjoy the tokens of the divine favor
here upon the earth.
The prophet
Jeremiah witnessed unthinkable horrors when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem
in 586 BC. Solomon’s temple was reduced to rubble. With its destruction, the people loss their
place of worship as well as the center of the Jewish community. . Ultimately,
His people were left with no food, no rest, and no peace. But in the midst of
anguish and grief, one of their prophets, Jeremiah, found a reason for hope.
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed because His compassions fail
not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3).
Jeremiah’s hope came from his personal experience of the Lord’s faithfulness
and from his knowledge of God’s promises in the past. Without these, he would
have been unable to comfort his people.
That’s what we must do when we are faced with difficult, hard, hurtful
circumstances…we must remember His past faithfulness to face present
circumstances with hope.
Lamentations 3 declares 20 My soul still remembers And
sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore
I have hope. 22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new
every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,”
says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” 25 The Lord is good to those
who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It
is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the
salvation of the Lord.
From these verses, we see reason to
rest in God’s character, for we clearly
see His mercy and compassion (v.22), faithfulness (v.23), goodness (v.25), and
salvation (v.26). That’s why we can have hope in the midst of hard
time…
His
goodness may not be immediately obvious…wait on Him. Remember, the Lord is good
to those who wait for Him ( Lamentations 3: 25) Lamentations 3 reminds us that
“the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end”
(v.22) and that God is faithful to the end even when everything seems to be
falling apart. This means that in the midst of our pain, even though we may be
lonely, we truly are not alone. And
though we may not feel His presence, He is there as our trusted companion who
will never walk away and let us down!
Yet, we might still ask…….Why, if God is good to me, does
He allow pain into my life? One, we live in a broken world with
consequences because of that.. Two, God wants us to long for HEAVEN, our real
home, not earth, our temporary one…. Three, God desires the best for us which means a
constant communication with Him.
This can been seen in an explanation of the daily manna
in Exodus 16. One asked the Rabbi, “Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna
to Israel for a year all at one time?” The teacher said, “I will
answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave
a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on the fixed date. It soon
happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day of the
year when the father ever saw his son. Therefore, the king changed his plan and gave
his son day by day enough money , money that was just sufficient for that
day. Consequently, the son visited his
father every morning. How he needed his father’s unbroken love, companionship,
wisdom and giving! Therefore, God dealt with Israel and deals with
us.”
“And we know that for those who love God, all
things work together for good, for those who are called according to His
purpose “ Romans 8: 28
This is a verse most of us know very well. “And
We know”, that’s our firm faith… Firm faith to get through what we do NOT
know. But what is the good?
One can have a clearer picture of "good" by asking…
Is Paul saying, "Whatever happens
is good." No.
Is he saying that suffering and evil
and tragedy are good? No.
Is he saying everything will work out
if we just have enough faith? No.
Is he saying that we will be able to
understand why God allowed tragedy to come? No.
What, then, is Paul trying to tell us? Paul is trying to remind us that when we
reach the unexplained mysteries of life, we need to erect a sign in our minds
which states, "Quiet. God at work." How is He at work? We're not always sure,
for we will never understand everything as HE does, for we aren’t all knowing
as He is. To what end is He working it? Good, and not
evil. That's what Romans 8: 28 is declaring…
Our danger is not to judge what we
cannot see by what we can see. That is, when tragedy strikes, if we can't see a
purpose, we assume there isn't one. Yet, God’s word declares that is NOT true!
We know Romans 8:28-30 is true
because His word is trustworthy and that guarantees His promise. Indeed, His
character rests upon it. We know because we know Him. We
know not by looking at the events that happen in our lives, but by knowing
our loving Heavenly Father. Yet, there are so many things we don't know and will not know. Why did I miscarry two babies? Why did God
knit a random genetic disorder into one of my children? Why did He allow certain heartbreaks that I
still don’t see Good from? We don't know why babies die or why cars wreck
or or why families break up or why good people
get sick and suddenly die. But this we know—God is at work and He has not
forgotten us. If all things work together for good (all
events, all circumstances, all trials, all happenings, etc.), then it follows
that God must be over all things and must control all things. This is not
fearful fatalism. This is the wonderful fact that an all-wise, all-loving, just
God is in complete control of all things!
The good news is not that God will make our circumstances
come out the way we like, but that God can weave even our disappointments and
disasters into His eternal plan. The evil that happens to us can be transformed
into God's good .Romans 8:28
is God's guarantee that if we love God, our lives can be used to achieve His purposes
and further His kingdom.
I had loss, but had the blessing of adopting this sweet one
year old from Siberia.... Almost 16 years later, see what a beauty she has become.
She recently gave her life to Christ, and was baptized.
My son, he has had several surgeries and finds out next week, (May 9th) if he will need yet another. Yet, I am so, very, very thankful for the blessing he is to me and all who know Him. It has not been easy, but it has been good. It does NOT mean all of my questions have been answered, but I am able to rest in His goodness
More to dwell upon:
Jeremiah 29:
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good
and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Deut.7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful
God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love
him and keep his commands."
Isaiah
54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be moved, yet my unfailing
love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed."
His goodness is a refuge. Nahum 1;7 The Lord is good, a
stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Jeremiah
31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with
loving-kindness."
Proverbs 8:17 " I love those who love me, and those who
seek me find me."
1 Cor. 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind
has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Isaiah 30:18
"...the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! "
Psalm 103:13" As a father has compassion on his
children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him."
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