How many of you say grace at meals? At our house, we divide it up by days. So on Monday, I give thanks, on Tuesday, it’s my wife, and so on. That arrangement at least eliminates arguments over whose turn it is to pray, although enthusiasm for the task varies considerably. We don’t have a set formula, we let them say whatever is on their heart. And so sometimes we get long detailed prayers involving every item of food on the table ["thank you for the beans, thank you for the rolls, thank you for the milk."] And sometimes we just get a brief statement of thanks.
And as children grow older, they want to have a little fun with the prayer itself. So you sometimes get prayers like this: "Good bread, good meat, good Lord, let’s eat." Or this: "Thank you, Lord, for this meal, We know you are the giver. But thank you, Lord, most of all, That we ain’t havin’ liver." Now, you will have to decide for your own household whether these prayers will be tolerated as expressions of youthful wit, or suppressed as sacrilegious. At our house, we take a firm stand. Those kinds of prayers are not allowed, unless they’re really funny.
When I was growing up, I learned this prayer: "God is great, God is good, And we thank him for this food: By his hand we all are fed, Give us, Lord, our daily bread." Any of you use that? Short, simple, good theology. And when you’re done, the potatoes are still warm. What I want to ask you this morning is whether you believe this prayer. Specifically, do you believe that God is good?
It’s easy to just reflexively answer, "yes." We know that’s what we’re supposed to say. And of course, it’s easy to say "God is good" when things are going well. But when we’re suffering, when we’re going through a time of pain, or difficulty, or trial, then it becomes more of an open question, doesn’t it? Our response at those times to the question of whether God is good doesn’t come so quickly and automatically. We wonder, "If God is good, then why this?" Why this illness, why this painful relationship, why this financial problem, why this loss, why this disappointment? And so, even if we keep saying to ourselves and others that God is good, there’s a nagging voice in the back of our head that says, "Really?" "Is God really good?"
This morning, I’m going to do two things. First, I’m going to look at what the Bible says about God’s goodness. Second, I’m going to show why it makes a difference in our lives whether we believe that God is good or not.
God is good
The Bible teaches that God is good. He is morally upright and pure. He is just and righteous. There is not the slightest hint of evil, or sin, or wrongdoing in His nature. He is absolutely perfect and holy.
"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5 (NIV)
"The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." - Psalm 92:15 (NIV)
"Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong . . . It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice." - Job 34:10, 12 (NIV)
God always does what is right. Period. God will never treat us unfairly. He will never break His promises. He will never punish anyone unjustly. Now, sometimes we have a problem with this idea, because we have a very high opinion of what we deserve. We believe that we deserve good health. And so when the biopsy comes back positive we conclude that God is treating us unfairly. We have a "right" to financial security and prosperity. So when we get handed a pink slip, we think God has slipped up somehow. We deserve a trouble-free life. So when the storms of life blow through, we grumble against God and His oversight of our lives.
But the Bible says that God always does what is right. So if there’s a discrepancy between my expectations and the reality, then the problem isn’t with the qualtiy of God’s justice. The problem is with my expectations, my inflated idea of what God owes me. God is good all the time.
However, it’s not really enough to know that God is inherently righteous, that’s He’s "good" in a purely objective sense, is it?. That doesn’t satisfy; that doesn’t comfort. What we really want to know is that God is good toward us, that He’s kind, and compassionate, and merciful, and gracious to us, His children.
God is good toward us.
"How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you." - Psalm 31:19 (NIV)
"You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you." - Psalm 86:5 (NIV)
"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." - Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
I could quote literally dozens of other verses to make the same point. Most of us could think of examples in our lives of how God has been good to us. God is good to His people. But if that’s true, then why do we doubt? Why do we wonder whether God is really good? Because we lack God’s perspective. We lack His wisdom and knowledge and understanding. So sometimes the work God is doing in our lives doesn’t seem good at all. It just seems painful and destructive. We look at what’s happening and say, "How could this possibly be anything but bad?" We don’t understand, and so we resist and rebel. But here’s the key: God loves us so much that He is willing to do what is necessary in our lives to bless us, even if we can’t understand or appreciate it. He is willing to do what is in our long-term interest, He is willing to seek our eternal good, even at the cost of short-term pain. God loves us enough not to stop when we complain or protest, but to continue working in our lives even when we resist and complain.
"Did you ever think, when you were a child, what fun it would be if your toys could come to life? Well suppose you could really have brought them to life. Imagine turning a tin soldier into a real little man. It would involve turning the tin into flesh. And suppose the tin soldier did not like it. He is not interested in flesh; all he sees is that the tin is being spoiled. He thinks you are killing him. He will do everything he can to prevent you. He will not be made into a man if he can help it." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
God’s goodness is unique.
Part of the difficulty in understanding God’s goodness is that He is entirely unique. He is different from us.
"As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ’Good teacher,’ he asked, ’what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ’Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ’No one is good-except God alone.’" - Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)
When we evaluate whether God is good, what are we doing? We’re setting up a standard in our minds and comparing God to that standard to see how He measures up. We say, "If God were good, then He would do (this)". "If God were good, then He wouldn’t do (this)". But what is our standard of "goodness" based on? Our experiences, books we’ve read, some television shows and movies, what our parents taught us, what our friends think, what Rush Limbaugh thinks (or Peter Jennings or Dan Rather). Throw in a few magazine articles, stir in the opinions of some professor we took a class from in college, and "voila!" We have our personal standard for judging "goodness." The problem is that any standard we can come up with is inferior to the thing being judged. God is the standard. So any judgments we make of God’s goodness, outside of what the Scriptures say about Him, are very likely to be false.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
Let me give an example. Tiger Woods. Now, Tiger Woods is not a god, although in some people’s minds he comes close. But he is the best golfer ever. Of all the millions of poor slobs who have ever picked up a putter, since that game was first invented a couple of centuries ago by a deranged Scotsman, he is the best. When he’s in a tournament, the other guys are all playing for second place. He only amuses himself by letting them think they have a chance. In fact, he could probably win playing left-handed. He could let everyone else tee off from the women’s tees and still win. He could win using a ping-pong ball instead of a golf ball. He could win blindfolded. In other words, his game is the standard by which everyone else’s game is measured.
Now, I also play golf. But I play on a very different level. I use the same Nike golf balls that Tiger Woods uses, but they don’t work quite as well for me. When I swing at the ball, I’m thrilled just to make contact. If the ball goes in the general direction of the hole, I’m overjoyed. If it lands on the fairway, instead of flying off into the trees or sailing into the middle of a lake, I’m ecstatic. My goal is not to win. My goal is to finish the round before I lose all the balls in my golf bag. Now, not only do I play golf, but sometimes I watch it on TV and listen to the commentators. I’ve even been known to read a golf book or two. What if I were to set myself up as a judge of Tiger Woods’ golf game? Give him pointers on his backswing? Suggest a change in his grip? Ridiculous. He is the standard by which other golfers are judged. In the same way, God is the standard of goodness. He is the standard by which our goodness is judged, not the other way around.
What does it mean to believe in God’s goodness?
What does it mean to believe in God’s goodness? It means that when things happen to us that are painful, unhappy, confusing - when unwelcome events disrupt our lives - we receive them as coming from a good God, a God who loves us and cares for us, a Father who has our best interests in view. Regardless of how our circumstances may appear, we maintain our faith and confidence in God.. We trust Him, no matter what. We don’t give in to fear, or panic, or despair. We don’t try to take back the reins, to take back control of our life from God. We don’t even demand an explanation. We just stay on course, trusting, following, praying, obeying, confident that God will bring everything to a conclusion that blesses us and glorifies Himself.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
I’d like to make a couple of comments about this verse. First of all, as I mentioned before, God’s idea of what is "good" may differ greatly from ours. You’ll hear some preachers claiming that God’s blessing involves good health, money, prosperity. But God’s idea of "good" is much deeper and longer lasting than that. God may bless us in material ways, but only as a means to blessing us spiritually. God is primarily concerned with our salvation, He’s concerned with making us more like Jesus Christ, refining our character, preparing us for the life to come. We’re often concerned just with earthly things, with the here and now. But when God thinks of what’s best for us, He has an eternal perspective. He’s not just thinking about tomorrow or next week. He’s thinking about forever. And the more we walk with Him, the more our values will shift in the that direction as well.
Second, it doesn’t say that all things are good. Disease isn’t good. Suffering isn’t good. Being hurt or mistreated isn’t good. But God can use them to produce something good. God is working through all the events of our lives, happy and sad, pleasant and unpleasant, joyful and sorrowful, to bring about an end result which is good.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. . . Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." - James 1:2-4, 12 (NIV)
What difference does this attitude make? What difference does it make if we truly believe and trust in God’s goodness toward us? It gives us peace and joy in our present circumstances and gives me hope for the future. The walls may be collapsing around me, but if I’m confident that my circumstances come from the hand of a good God who loves me, I don’t have to worry. I can be at peace and trust Him to work it all out. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I can trust that whatever it is, He will guide me through it. He will take care of me.
Conclusion
God doesn’t ask us to understand. He only asks us to believe that He is good, and to trust, and follow, and obey. He asks us to believe that the end result is worth the pain and struggle, to believe that He knows what He’s doing, to be willing to place our confidence in Him rather than in ourselves or our own understanding. Will you do that today?
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
