By Grace Through Faith

WHAT IS GOODNESS:

From reading scripture, we can understand what goodness looks like by understanding the character of God. To me, goodness consists of being righteous and holy. And like the other attributes that we have discussed so far in this series, we can learn a lot about goodness from teachings in the Bible.

GOD’S GOODNESS:

The Book of Psalm speaks multiple times about the characteristics of God. It is a long book of the Bible, but I think it is a great way to get a better understanding of the love God’s people have for Him because of His goodness and righteousness. David gives us many verses that are focused on describing God’s character and even in his times of trouble, he still put his trust and comfort in God.

“The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let Him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face.” – Psalm 11:5-7

Our God is holy, faithful, and good. He is sovereign and loving through and through. He is just and uses His righteous judgment when needed.

I use to have a difficult time understanding God’s goodness. I had this distorted thinking that God is only good on my good days. You know how you have those days that are just difficult and challenging and nothing seems to be going your way? Or maybe unfortunate events happen with our loved ones and we don’t understand why these tough things are happening?

Even on the hardest of days, God is still good. He is still allowing you to wake up and breathe. He is giving you all the necessities that are required for you to live an abundant life with Him and glorify Him with the purpose He has for you. He is going before you and fighting on your behalf.

God displays His goodness to us, not just by the blessings He gives us but by His righteousness and holiness.

“The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” – Psalm 121:7-8

HOW CAN WE DISPLAY GOODNESS:

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’.” – 1 Peter 1:13-16

Because God is holy and good, we can strive for goodness by learning from His teachings and obeying His Word. Along with the ten commandments, there are many rules that God mentions to us on how to live a holy life.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” – Ephesians 5:15-17

God hates our sins. If we align our hearts with the Spirit, we can learn to walk in a way of seeking repentance and righteousness. This doesn’t mean we won’t ever sin again. We are human, and we are broken. But, it does mean we can focus our attention on God’s righteousness and walk towards His direction. We can aim to seek His will for our lives and not our desires and wants.

HIS WILL BE DONE:

“And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation’. And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done.” And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” – Luke 22:39-44

When Jesus knew that the time was coming where He would be sacrificed on the cross for our sins, He was in great distress. But, even though Jesus did not want to endure the painful path set before Him, He still wanted God’s will to be done. Jesus displayed His holiness by setting His attention and focus on the Lord’s will.

Jesus teaches us time and time again that God wants our attention and our hearts. He wants us to be seeking Him and His kingdom first and forevermore. We serve a good and holy God, and even when we fall short and do not think we are worthy enough for the goodness He has for us, He still wants us.

“We love because He first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

With love,

Claire