Devotion

During my childhood, my younger brother and I attended Little Country Daycare in Haslet, Texas. It was at that daycare center where I first began to learn how to pray. To this day, I can still vividly remember the two types of prayers that the Little Country staff taught us to recite on a daily basis. At the very beginning of each day of school, all age groups would gather together and pray the following: “God, you are good all the time and all the time you are good. Thank you for this day, Amen!” This preliminary prayer in the mornings would later be followed by a second prayer at lunchtime: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food, Amen!” As I reflect back to these early years of my life, I am thankful that the staff of Little Country Daycare took it upon themselves to impress upon our young minds what is perhaps the most important truth about God: He is absolutely and altogether good (Psalm 100:5)!

It has been rightly said that the goodness of God is the perfect sum, source and standard of that which is wholesome, virtuous, beneficial and beautiful.[1] Indeed, it is impossible to rightly understand or know the triune God apart from being personally acquainted with His good and perfect character (Job 42:5). Few places in the Bible illustrate how impeccably good our holy Creator is than Exodus 33:18-34:8. In that portion of the Old Testament, Moses and the people of Israel are in the midst of their 40 years of “wilderness wanderings,” in anticipation of someday entering into the Promised Land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18). In Exodus 33:18, after having just led the Israelites in worship of Yahweh (33:7-11), Moses asked God to show him His glory. In response to Moses’ request, God said that He would “make all [His] goodness pass before [Moses], and [would] proclaim [His name] before [Moses]” (Exodus 33:19).

What exactly was “the name” that God proclaimed to Moses? In just a few verses later, we see one of the most detailed descriptions of God’s character as revealed in Scripture: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations” (Exodus 34:6-7). As documented in this narrative contained in Exodus, the glory of God and the goodness of God are one and the same reality. This is to say that goodness is the all-encompassing glory of God (Psalm 145:9). Anything that can be said of God’s nature or of God’s governing of His created order must be regarded as comprehensively good (1 John 1:5).

All that God does in redemptive history necessarily flows out of all that God is in Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). Because God Himself is absolutely good, we can likewise affirm that all God does is good (Psalm 145:17). This is not to say that everything that transpires in history is good, nor does this mean that God is the direct cause of everything that occurs throughout history (Isaiah 5:20). Although God is sovereign over all things that will ever come to pass, He is certainly not the immediate author or cause of evil, temptation or sin (James 1:13). Because God’s nature is entirely good, and wickedness cannot come from absolute goodness, it is impossible for God to be the direct source of any iniquity (James 1:17). Nevertheless, for reasons known only to God, He has allowed evil, sin and suffering to enter into His created order (Isaiah 45:5-7). In this respect, evil has entered into the world by good, but not from good. To say it differently, the goodness of God had a good purpose in permitting evil to enter into His creation through the sin of Satan and his legion and thereafter, Adam and Eve (Revelation 12:7-9; Genesis 3:1–19).

As has been seen since the Fall, God has had a use for evil which He could not produce from His own nature (Proverbs 16:4). By His omnipotent grace, God is able to use all forms of wickedness in creation to work together for the eternal good of His people and ultimately, to bring supreme glory to His name (Romans 8:28). The name that is characterized as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; [keeping] lovingkindness for thousands, [while forgiving] iniquity, transgression and sin.” When Moses experienced this glorious self-revelation of God, he “made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship” (Exodus 34:8). As the people of God meditate on His goodness in the twenty first century, our response should likewise be that of worship (1 Chronicles 16:23-36). Like Moses, Christians are called to ascribe honor, laud and praise to God for who He is as the highest good we could ever enjoy as creatures (Mark 10:18). The goodness of God also calls His people into action (Ephesians 2:10)!

If Christians are to be faithful in their commissioning to be imitators of God, they will inevitably grow in their propensity to manifesting this divine virtue in their own lives toward other people (Ephesians 5:1-2). As the Holy Spirit progressively develops Believers into the likeness of Jesus Christ, they will come to see tangible evidences of this attribute of God being manifested through interactions with their neighbors (Galatians 6:10). Although the best of men are men at best and the greatest good that a Christian could ever produce is like filthy rags when compared to God, we can rejoice in the fact that we no longer walk in darkness (Colossians 1:12-14). As light in the Lord, all Christians walk as children of light, bearing witness to their salvation through acts of goodness, righteousness and truth produced by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:8-9). This week, thoughtfully analyze the plethora of ways that God’s goodness has been showcased in your life and upon doing so, make it your prayer to be a beacon of God’s goodness to others as opportunities present themselves.

May you grow in your awareness of and appreciation for the goodness of God. He is, indeed, good all of the time and all of the time, He is good!

Weekly Passages For Meditation:

Monday- 1 Chronicles 16:8-22

8 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.

9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders.

10 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

11 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.

12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,

13 O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac.

17 He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the portion of your inheritance.”

19 When they were only a few in number, Very few, and strangers in it,

20 And they wandered about from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people, 

21 He permitted no man to oppress them, And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,

22 “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”

Tuesday- 1 Chronicles 16:23-36

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

24 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.

27 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array.

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord; For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

35 Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise.”

36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting.

Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Wednesday- Psalm 107:1-21

107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary

3 And gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city.

8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!

9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains,

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God, And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help.

13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart.

15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!

16 For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.

17 Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, And they drew near to the gates of death.

19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!

Thursday- Psalm 107:22-43

22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses.

29 He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!

32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

33 He changes rivers into a wilderness And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

34 A fruitful land into a salt waste, Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into springs of water;

36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell, So that they may establish an inhabited city,

37 And sow fields and plant vineyards, And gather a fruitful harvest.

38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly, And He does not let their cattle decrease.

39 When they are diminished and bowed down, Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

40 He pours contempt upon princes And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, And makes his families like a flock.

42 The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.

Friday- Psalm 145:1-12

1 I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.

7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness, And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

9 The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;

12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Saturday- Psalm 145:13-21

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14 The Lord sustains all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.

16 You open Your hand, And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways, And kind in all His deeds.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

20 The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

[1] John MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth, Page 181.