Total Goodness
Yesterday, Jim posted about God being 100% good. Today, I want to expand on this topic.
O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Psalm 86:5 (New Living Translation, NLT)
Most of us believe that God is good. However, we don’t all necessarily understand that He is totally and completely good. He is pure goodness. There is no trace of sin or impurity in Him. There is nothing bad to be found in the Lord. That’s why we can say that He is not the author of confusion, natural disasters, sickness, or any other bad thing. When we look at John 10:10, there is a clear distinction between who steals, kills and destroys (the devil), and Who gives us abundant life overflowing with goodness (the Lord).
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (New International Version, NIV)
In this imperfect world, we are so accustomed to things being a mixture of good and bad. Even in the crystal clear waters coming down a mountain stream, we expect there to be impurities of some sort. However, in God, there is no speck, no microscopic particle, of anything that isn’t good. His DNA is 100% goodness.
The bad things that happen in this life are because of several factors. Such factors include: sin that allows satan to get access to our lives to cause trouble, sowing and reaping in action that causes the harvest of bad seeds to come up in the form of judgment, and failure on our part to listen to the Lord. He only wants to be good to us- that is who He is.
If we allow sin into our lives, it gives the enemy legal access to cause harm. Negative events in our lives can often be traced back to something we did or said to give the enemy entrance into our lives.
If we, or someone else has sown bad seed, such as lying, stealing, cheating, or some other negative action, the law of sowing and reaping will bring about a harvest off that seed. This is how judgment happens. Judgment is not God sitting there making calamities happen to judge us or another person. That is why it is so inaccurate to call tornadoes and other such disasters an “act of God.” Judgment is the arrival of a harvest that we or someone else has sown for through actions and/or words. The entire Kingdom of God operates on the basis of seed time and harvest. If bad seeds have been sown, a bad harvest can be expected.
If we fail to listen to the warnings of the Lord, or we do not operate in faith in His Word, we can experience negative consequences.
Bad events or circumstances in our lives are not there because God is bad or has anything against us. They are the results of living in a fallen world with fallen people and our failure to avoid sin. God Himself is absolutely and completely good and kind and merciful. He does not want us to experience judgment or harm. He wants our lives to be full of His love and glory. God Himself is good and His mercy endures forever.
If you are in the midst of a negative situation, you can tap into the goodness of God. As a child of God, you can go to Him in repentance anytime, and He can help you get out of the mess you are in. Ask Him to show you if there is a door that has been left open to the enemy and, if so, how to close it. He will tell you. That is His goodness and mercy in operation. He loves you, and He really is totally, completely, and absolutely 100% good.
