God is good—all the Time!

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” ~ Psalm 100:5

I believe the greatest lesson of faith is the acknowledgement that God is good—all the time, even when we can’t feel it with our emotions. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven trustworthy in our own minds.”  But there are days, which sometimes turn into weeks, which sometimes turn into entire seasons, where our heart wonders, God, are You really good? I pray that the promises of God in His word will help encourage your heart to know that God is good, all the time.

Let me encourage you to trust the sovereignty of God. You might ask if God is in control of everything and bad things still happen, how can He be good? When life is hard, do you ever doubt that God is good? When your prayers seem to go unanswered, do you ever secretly think it’s because He’s mad at you or trying to punish you? So do you ever wonder, How could a good God let this happen?

Questions like these are the exact reason we’ve got to trust what the Bible says about who God is. Our feelings can trick us. Our limited perspective of what’s happening in our lives makes it hard to know what exactly is good for us and what isn’t. That’s why when we’re tempted to doubt that God is good, we need to run to God’s promises.

In case there’s still that nagging place in your heart that’s saying, If God is really good, why hasn’t He fixed this? this passage is just for you. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans. 8:28). In other words, a good God makes sure that even the bad stuff gets worked out to our benefit. Be reminded that  “This too shall pass and be redeemed. The more you cling, the more you’ll see He really is good. We can know for sure that He has a plan to make sure even the bad stuff in our lives will be worked for our good. Will you cling to that truth today?

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She considered God Faithful!

When you are going through trials – especially severe and prolonged ones – it can be tempting to give in to doubt and discouragement. But if you remember that a lack of faith can rob you of God’s best, you can cooperate with Him to resist weakening and wavering in your belief.  One way you can do that is to study how God’s people in the Bible stood firm in difficult times, and received the miracles that He had for them. 

 “And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise.”  Hebrews 11:11

If you’re going through a very long trial of your own, seek the Lord about how you could stabilize your wavering faith. The words in this passage “she considered Him faithful” will cause you to came alive in your spirit, and you will began to understand what the Lord is saying to you.  If you would make a quality decision to believe that God was indeed faithful – to His character, His Word, and His promises – your faith would hold steady so that you could receive the blessings and rewards He had in store for you.

The Bible makes it clear that Sarah’s situation looked hopeless.  She was well past the age of childbearing, and yet God had promised her and Abraham a child of their own. To her credit, “she considered [God] who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word.” (Hebrews 11:11 AMP)  And as a result, she saw the fulfillment of His promise to her.  

I don’t know what difficulties or heartaches you may be facing right now, but I can tell you this:  If you will trust in the faithfulness of God, you will see Him move heaven and earth to bring His very best purposes to pass in your life.  Today, join with me in declaring – “I refuse to doubt my God!”

Trusting in God’s Faithfulness

Is there something God has told you to do that seems just too difficult? You can be sure that if He has called you to carry out His will, He’s going to be faithful to accomplish it through His Spirit living and working in you. So if you tell Him, “I can’t do that, Lord—what if I fail?” you’re really saying, “God doesn’t keep His word.” And yet, our total expectation should be in Him—not in our own energy, ability, or experience.

“God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithfull.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:24

When you doubt God’s trustworthiness, that unbelief becomes a gap in your spiritual armor, and you can be sure that’s exactly where Satan will attack you. You’ll begin to doubt even more about God’s character, such as His goodness—and that distrust will become a heavy load of baggage you’ll needlessly drag through every area of your life.

You might feel that you do not have enough faith to obey, but the Lord isn’t asking you to have faith in favorable circumstances. He’s asking you to trust that He is who He says He is.

Do you believe that God is a liar? It’s really that simple: either He is truthful or He’s not. But if you believe that faithfulness is His character, then you can do anything He requires. You’ll be strengthened by your dependence on Him—whether a deluge or trials or a flood of blessing comes.

It’s actually when life gets rough and rugged that the sweetness of God’s faithfulness makes itself real in your heart. As you walk through those storms in complete reliance on His strength, your trust in His character becomes part of who you are and strengthens from within.

God’s Faithfulness

This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Whenever we are facing difficult circumstances, and wonder, “Where is God?” one of the first things we should do is to look in the rearview mirror of our lives. What we will see will undoubtedly give us strength for today and hope for tomorrow. What we will see is God’s faithfulness throughout our lives. We will see how He has loved us, redeemed us, forgiven us, and given us new and eternal life (see 1 John 2:25, 5:11). We will see how He has brought us through past struggles, provided for our needs, woke us up this morning, and how He continues to cover us with His love throughout the day.

As you think about all that you’re going through, or wonder how you’ll be able to pick up the pieces of your life and move forward, don’t be discouraged. God was faithful yesterday, He is faithful today, and He will be faithful tomorrow. God never changes (see Hebrews 13:8). You can always depend on Him.

Think about it. What past challenges has God brought you through? Has He healed your hurting heart? Or weakened body? Has He ever delivered you from fear, worry, anger, or despair? Have you ever experienced His peace, joy, or strength? Has He ever forgiven you, blessed you, or provided for you? As you recall God’s faithfulness to help you in the past, know that you can trust Him to be faithful now and in the future. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God, is the faithful God, who for a thousand generations keeps His promises and constantly loves those who love Him and who obey His commandments …” (Deuteronomy 7:9). He will not fail you!