Why God Is So Good to Us

 

Praise 7

 

          The question before us is not, "Is God good to us?" No thinking, feeling, praying, working Christian could even utter such a sentence. On the contrary, the question before is, "Why is God so good to us?"

          It is plainly evident that God is good to us. We see this especially when we cast our gaze backward. Often, in the moment, we cannot trace His hand. Other than by faith, we cannot see His goodness in future years either. But unfailingly, when we look at where we have been and how we have been led, we see His lovingkindness poured out. God was good to draw you to Himself, was He not? He was good in granting you a full and free pardon. He was good in preparing and preserving for you the inerrant Word of God. And countless other examples could be cited here.

          Additionally, I would argue that God is being good to us even as we speak. Right now. At this moment in time. He is providing for you a good church and a pastor. He is giving you some measure of health. He allows many of you to live in America. He grants you an intellect capable of understanding Him and what He requires. He offers longsuffering in your besetting sin. His forgiveness is readily available upon confession. He is providing for you. His angels are protecting you from crime and accident, and persecution. He enriches your life with good friends. He grants you peace, comfort, strength, and wisdom when you ask. And He does all of these and more for me as well. Truly, God is being good to us.

          By faith, and unashamedly so, I assert that God will continue to be good to us in the future. It is eternal life we have been granted, not temporary life. It includes permanent promises of provision and protection, not temporary ones. Why, think about Heaven for a moment… No devil. No temptation. No fleshly nature. No sickness. No death. No sin. No crime. No pain. No sorrow. God Himself will be with us. Everything will be brand new and will remain so. We will be reunited with loved ones. And all of this and more will continue endlessly.

          Again, I say, the question before us is not, "Is God good to us." Instead, it is, "Why is God good to us?" Although there are several answers to that question, one is quite distinctly mentioned in Psalm 30.

1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

7 Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried to thee, O Lord; And unto the Lord I made supplication.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

          From time to time, people will say nice things about me. They will thank me for something I have written, said, or preached. In some fashion, the Lord allows me to minister to thousands of people regularly. When kind and grateful people turn around and compliment me, what ought to be my response? "Why, yes, thank you. God certainly has been good to me, hasn't He? It is an honor to be in His service."

Do you see that underlined clause above? God does not grant me attention so that I can glorify myself. He allows me some attention as a billboard so that I can display Him. It is for this reason He has blessed us and granted us gladness, that we may make Him look good.

While the heart is ever most important in our spiritual relationship with the Lord, it is not in my heart alone I am to glorify Him. No, I am to do so audibly. Sing… and not be silent. I must indeed be inwardly grateful first, but I need to verbalize this where others can hear it. 

Yesterday, after I picked up my daughter from work, we ran a few errands on the way home. The last stop was my local butcher shop, Cremer's. The owner there is a friendly guy, and it is not unusual for him to chat with his customers. I whistled as I opened the door and walked up one of the two aisles in the small store. Reaching into the freezer for my chosen purchase, I was startled to hear, "How are you doing today?"

Looking over my shoulder, I grinned and said, “I’m feeling fine as a frog hair split four ways.”  

A bit startled, he said something about the weather being exceptionally fine. Sensing an opportunity as I strolled by him, I said, “It takes more than the weather to make you feel this good. It takes Jesus.”

He could not help himself. He laughed, shook his head, and went back to work.

Do you know how you feel when you hit a golf ball perfectly? Yeah, that feeling. That is how I felt as I walked out of that store. God has been good to me, and I had publicly praised Him for it, in my own small way bearing witness to Christ at the same time.

Do the men and women you work with know more about your lumbago than they do about how good God has been to you? Does your hairdresser at the salon know more about how rotten your children are than she does about how good God is to you? Do the people in your world see the trouble, the problems, the burdens of your life? Or do they know that your Heavenly Father greatly blesses you and that you are convinced He is an amazing God?

Has God been good to you? Is God being good to you? Will God continue being good to you?

Then tell somebody.