"God Is Good - Part 2"

"And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." Mark 10:18

In the last Coffee Break I talked about how people accuse God of not being good just because bad things happen. I tried to redirect our focus to the good things that He has bestowed on us- such a waking us up this morning, giving us a roof over our head, food on our table, etc. One of the subscribers to the devotional sent me an email asking me a question. The question was, "If someone doesn't have a roof over their head or food to eat, then does that mean that God is not good to them?" I decided to answer this person through the devotional this morning.

I certainly never intended to make it sound as if God's goodness is linked solely to the fact of a person receiving certain physical and material blessings. That is why I wanted to address the subject again this morning and clarify in case I gave the wrong impression. The fact of the matter is, God is good, period! He is good even if He never does anything good for us. If He allows bad things to happen, if He never supplies another need, if He never sends us another provision, even if He turned His back upon us, it would not change the fact that HE IS GOOD. Good is His nature, it is who He is- not just what He does.

Can I explain why bad things happen? Can I explain why some seem to be more blessed than others? Can I explain why not all of those who love the Lord don't have a roof over their head, enough food to eat or are suffering for Christ? To be honest, no, I can't. But I do know that it doesn't mean that God is not good and good to us. The greatest act of goodness that God has shown to us, as I said in the last devotional, was that of giving His Son Jesus to pay the ransom and take the punishment for our sins so that we might have the opportunity to receive eternal life.

Just because Joseph was thrown into a pit, didn't mean that God wasn't good or good to him. Just because Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, or the three Hebrews were thrown into the fiery furnace, didn't mean that God had ceased to be good. Just because Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel didn't mean that God was not good. Even when God doesn't do in our lives what we consider as good, it doesn't mean that He is not still good. And even when He doesn't do what we classify as "good", we know that He is working ALL (even what we consider bad) things together for our good.

I thank the person for writing, I always appreciate the comments, because I certainly didn't want to give the impression that God is only good, or good to us, when we see some sort of material blessing He has sent to us. He is good regardless. And even if He never sends me one more morsel of food, or if I find myself homeless, He has already been so much better to me than I deserve.

Have a great day. God is good... period! And the greatest expression of His goodness came through the cross when He gave His own Son for us.

For further reading:
Luke 18:19
Psalm 52:1, 31:19
Isaiah 63:7