Fellowship & Community

Psalms 13:1-6

Goodness and Trust

Even as God’s dearly loved children, we will all go through times of difficulty and hardship in this life. In the first four verses of Psalm 13, David is pouring out his heart and being painfully honest about the hardships he had been experiencing. Evidently, things had been pretty tough. David is to the point where he’s even wondering if God had forgotten him. He’s wrestling with his thoughts and his heart is filled with sorrow. To add insult to injury, his enemies are gloating over him and celebrating the possibility of his demise.

Then, in verse 5, the entire tone of the Psalm changes as David declares “I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” David is making a faith declaration that, no matter how things may appear or even how he feels, he is choosing to put his trust in the goodness of God.

When we experience difficulties and trials, we need to keep coming back to what we know to be true about God. Experiences can be discouraging. Feelings can be deceiving. So we keep coming back to the truth of God’s word and what we know to be true about the character of God. David declares, by faith, “I trust in your unfailing love,” and “He has been good to me”.

What faith declaration do you need to make today? What truth about God’s character do you need to stand on? We may not always understand why we’re going through the difficulties we’re facing, but we can always know that God is good and will always work things out for our good.

Matthew 7:7-11

Good, Good Father

Being confident of the goodness of God is essential to praying prayers of faith. For many, the image of God as a good Father is difficult to believe. For those who have had an earthly father who was detached or absent or even abusive, the goodness of God may be hard to accept. Jesus however, who knows the Father intimately, always spoke of God as a good Father. Our Heavenly Father is not abusive or absent or even inattentive. In fact, Jesus taught us that our Heavenly Father is perfect in every way. Imagine the most perfect father you could ever hope for and that’s what God is, only better.

How would being confident in the goodness of God change the way you pray?

If we see God as uncaring or unconcerned, we will pray weak prayers that are tainted by an unbiblical image of God.  When we see God as good, we will pray with sincere confidence and faith, believing that we are praying to a good Father; a Father who is interested, a Father who is caring, a Father who is on our side.

Romans 8:18-39

All The Time

Most of us can manage to be good, at least for a while. Unlike us, God is always good. God never changes. We learn in the book of Hebrews that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God’s character is unwavering and unchanging. He is the epitome of consistent. God is uber-faithful!

In His goodness, God never fails. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, who understood full well what it was like to suffer for being a Christian,

“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

To sum it all up, God is unwaveringly committed to His children and nothing can change that. Life changes. People change. Our circumstances change. We even change. But one thing that will never change is God’s love toward us. His goodness and love are as certain is the rising of the sun.

I encourage you, today, to take everything that may be coming against you and lay that at the feet of Jesus. Trust Him with every problem and thank Him for His consistent, unfailing goodness.

John 10:7-18

One of the beautiful word pictures the Bible employs to express the heart of God for His people is the picture of a good shepherd, lovingly caring for His sheep. Jesus uses that picture here of himself. In contrast to the devil – a thief who steals, destroys, and kills – Jesus, the good shepherd, comes to give life – a full life.

In John 10, Jesus gives some specific examples of His shepherd’s heart for the sheep.

·  He knows the sheep personally and is known by them.

·  He stays with them in the face of the attacking wolf.

·  He calls His sheep by name.

·  He lays down His life for the sheep.

What a good shepherd Jesus is! There is nothing He wouldn’t do for us. The entire purpose of Him being born into this world and dying on the cross was to save us from ourselves. He loves us that much!  We can trust in His goodness. He is the good shepherd that is always leading, always guiding, always caring, and always guarding.

1 John 3:1-3

Goodness and Adoption

In looking for a word to aptly describe God’s goodness toward us in adopting us as His children, John employs the word “lavished”. As a verb, lavish means to “bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on.”  What a great description of God’s goodness – “generous” and “extravagant”. The goodness of God is plentiful. It abounds. Don’t think trickling stream; think roaring river. In truth, there is no limit to God’s goodness and love.

Our human experience tells us that goodness is carefully meted out as a reward for our good behavior. In God’s economy, however, the process is reversed. Knowing and experiencing God’s great unconditional love toward us is what leads us to desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Take a few minutes to meditate on this scripture. Think deeply about the goodness of God toward you. Allow the river of His love and kindness to flow over you and thank Him for His undeserved favor.

Psalms 118:1-29

Goodness and Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving Day! Family, food, football – what could be better? It’s a huge celebration for our family, but not just because of all of the traditional festivities. Thanksgiving is special because it’s a great reminder of everything we have to be thankful to God for. For a Christ-follower, Thanksgiving is not simply a date on the calendar; it’s a lifestyle. The goodness of God is something to celebrate. Honestly, it’s something to be in awe of.

Let’s face it – we live in a culture of entitlement. It’s far too easy for us to slip into a mindset that tells us we deserve all the good things of life and more. A great antidote for a spirit of entitlement is to be intentionally thankful, as the writer of Psalm 118 was.

Read through this Psalm again. This time take note of all the things the Psalmist is thankful for. Can you identify with any of them? Take some time today to simply be in awe of the goodness of God toward you.

Isaiah 61:1-11

Goodness and Justice

Isaiah 61 is a beautiful display of God’s goodness as He reveals His intentions for future blessing and total restoration of all things. In particular, a huge part of God’s future restoration will be the establishment of perfect justice. God demonstrates His goodness by administering justice for all. We see glimpses of justice now but, one day, God’s justice will prevail and be put into full effect.

Speaking in the first person, God says,

“For I the Lord love justice;

I hate robbery and wrong;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.” – Isaiah 61:8

As Christians we are to do more than simply wait for future justice, we are to stand for and practice justice now, particularly when it comes to orphans, widows, the poor, the neglected and abused, and those who are being treated unjustly. Let’s not only be thankful for the goodness of God, let’s determine to be reflections of that goodness. Let’s put justice into practice. Who do you need to pray for? Who do you need to stand up for? Who do you need to serve? Allow God’s good justice to flow through your life to the world around you.

Psalms 27:1-14

We Don’t Have to Wait

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in heaven and I’m looking forward to it. Heaven is the eternal destiny and ultimate reward awaiting every Christ-follower. Our hearts long for the sovereign rule of God and the sweetness of unencumbered intimacy with our Lord. It is, however, a big mistake to think that we must wait until we are in heaven to experience the goodness of God. David fully expected to experience the goodness of God in the present as well as the future.

“I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13

Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “Life is hard. And then you die.” It’s kind of sarcastically humorous, but unfortunately, it is a lie that many people have bought into. If we choose to see the evil around us, we can. If we choose to see the goodness of God, we will see it all around us. We often miss God’s goodness because we’re just not paying attention or we’re too focused on the struggles and difficulties of life. David wraps up this Psalm with this word of advice:

“Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14

If you happen to find yourself in the midst of one of life’s storms right now, hold on tight to the Lord. This storm will pass. They all do. Keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus and remain confident that you will see and know the goodness of God.

Psalms 23:1-6

The Good Life

David understood what “the good life” really was. He knew it had nothing to do with wealth, position, or power. It has everything to do with a real relationship with a loving God. Long before David enjoyed life in the palace, he had experienced the goodness of God out in the fields tending the family sheep. As he was doing his best to be a good shepherd, his heart was at peace knowing that he was under the watchful eye and loving care of the Great Shepherd.

These early lessons about the goodness of God would serve as a source of faith and strength for David’s entire life. When he needed courage, God was there. When he needed wisdom, God was there. When he needed forgiveness, God was there. When he needed hope, God was there. The Great Shepherd was always there for David and He is always there for you!

Read through this Psalm again, making a mental list of all the ways the Great Shepherd is good to you. Meditate on His goodness. One by one, thank Him for all the wonderful ways He demonstrates His goodness towards you.