Do you really believe this about God? …

If you’ve been to church, you’ve probably experienced this: A leader walks onto the stage and says, “God is good!” and immediately the audience responds, “All the time!” Then the leader says, “All the time …” and the audience responds enthusiastically, “God is good!”

It’s a fun experience! “God is good, all the time!”

We say that as a congregation on Sundays, but do you really believe it?

I mean … really?

Do you believe that God is always good? Constantly? Every moment? Every second?

When I was a kid, at a time before I really knew or had any honest understanding of God, I was afraid of thunderstorms. When the loud thunder would boom, I was afraid it might be God, peeling back the clouds and coming in anger to punish us humans. I didn’t always think God was good. I may have thought He was holy, or just, or righteous, but not always good.

Our culture doesn’t think God is good. It questions God whenever death, pain, hunger, loneliness, sickness, or sorrow is brought to light. They ask where God is at times like these, and say that surely a good God wouldn’t tolerate such things.

And too often, God’s very own children don’t believe He is good. At least, not always.

The result is that we make God out to be far less than He is, robbing ourselves of seeing and knowing His goodness. Because God really is good all of the time! Jesus said it this way, “18 Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: ‘Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?’ 19 ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus asked him. ‘Only God is truly good’.”

When we don’t honestly believe God is good, we seek from Him something less than He is both willing and capable of providing to us … His goodness! Jesus teaches us to believe that God is good, and to be persistent at pursuing His goodness. Look closely at these words of Christ:

“7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:7-11).

More than simply giving us good “gifts,” God’s plan is to give us His goodness in an even greater way. The words the prophet Jeremiah spoken to the exiles are true for us today: “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” (Jeremiah 29:11).

God has good gifts, a good plan, a good future, a good hope for you IF you believe He is good, and persist in asking for and seeking His goodness.

But do you really believe that God is good … all the time?

Really?

Scotty