Goodness of God – Part 2
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of October 3, 2021
Jesus is our good news. He is the Word, and every Word out of His mouth—written and revealed—is an expression of His goodness (Strong's #2097).
He calls us to "...Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous" (Romans 12:9 TPT). To "hold on to what is good" (1 Thes 5:21).
We can experience God’s goodness of new (eternal) life when we call upon His Name and walk in agreement with Him (Romans 10:13).
James 1:17 TPT reminds us of His faithful and complete grace being worked out in our lives by saying, "Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change."
I love how King David expresses His praise for our Lord in this regard by saying, "What a glorious God! He gives us salvation over and over, then daily he carries our burdens! Our God is a mighty God who saves us over and over. For the Lord, Yahweh, rescues us from the ways of death many times" (Ps 68:19-20 TPT). "Yahweh," he sings, "you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me" (Ps 103:2 TPT)?
Life is always about glorifying God. Even in the midst of what we endure, redemption rules. Our God made us conquerors in advance, and faith is our "standard of measurement" (1 John 4:4, Romans 12:3 TPT). So, let the redeemed say so.
I believe we are in a special time of redemption—a time where we will see greater forms of prosperity pursue "the God-lover," those who responded to God’s Word by clinging to it and keeping it dear as they endured difficult circumstances in faith. I believe God will bless them outwardly in many ways, as a reflection and a fulfilling of John 10:10 and John 15:5 abundant life (Prov 13:21, Luke 8:15).
Psalm 84:11 AMP assures us that "...the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord bestows grace and favor and honor; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Romans 8:31-34 NIV asks us, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
His higher, eternal life flows from righteousness and justice by grace as God’s people submit to Him by His life-giving faith and do not surrender to evil out of fear (Isa 32:1-2 TPT).
1 John 4:18 AMP reminds us that "There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love]."
Nothing can separate us from this perfect, unlimited love as we trust God to protect and bless us (Romans 8:38-39, Prov 30:5).
Romans 8:37 TPT affirms this by saying, "Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!"
I love what Moses said to Joshua before Joshua was about to enter into God’s greater promises. Moses said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed" (Deut 31:7-8 ESV).
I love how God is with us where we are and also out in front of us simultaneously, waiting for us to step further into the unique destiny He has for each of us.
God is our Commander of Angel Armies, a shield. He protects us, delivers us, spares us, and rescues us, "just as a bird hovers over its nest to protect its young" (Isa 31:5 TPT).
In this way, He has been traversing us through former places into His greater promises. He has been fortifying and guiding us as He purifies our souls. Safely crossing us over into a more advantageous position that requires us to follow Him even more closely.
So, let’s always reach for Him. Living life in the fullness of God without compromise is where the higher life is. He desires to bless us with His stores. So, let’s choose Him and His standards and ways above lesser ones and prove victorious. Let’s think honorably and do good (2 Cor 8:21, 13:7; Heb 13:16).
Remember that "Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor" (Prov 11:25 TPT).
So, Lord,
Help us to be Your hands and feet. Help us to "show mercy to the poor and not miss an opportunity to do acts of kindness for others, for these are the true sacrifices that delight" Your "heart" (Heb 13:16 TPT).
In Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Amen.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
