The Goodness of God

I love the way God works. Yes, sometimes life is painful. Sometimes it seems slow. Sometimes the exact opposite of what we wanted to happen happens. But we have a promise: “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, ESV). We know that in the end, everything will be fine—but we have to keep that in the perspective of the very next verse: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” What is the most good for us is to be more like Christ, and because at the end we meet God and know Him better…what can’t be good about that?!


I think the next verse is amazing. “And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” Why would God desire to bring me to heaven and glorify me? Not because of anything I have done, but because He set His love on me! “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” There is nothing to doubt. God is love, God loves me, and He knows every second of my past, present, and future.


“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” How faithless we are when we complain and grumble, become discontent, and compare ourselves with others. God gives good, amazing gifts!


As long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to go to the ocean. When God sent me to school in South Carolina, I was hopeful that would lead to an ocean trip. I was there a year. Then we took my brother to school in Florida and went to the Gulf of Mexico—very cool…but since it wasn’t true ocean, it just whetted my appetite for the real thing. :) Another two years away at school, and I graduated. What I wanted more than anything else by way of a graduation gift was to see the ocean, so graduation weekend my family and I trekked down to Charleston, South Carolina. Beautiful, beautiful.

And then I went to California on a dream-come-true missions trip—and we went to the ocean: once near LA, once in San Diego. So many years of dreaming to see the ocean…and I put my feet in the Atlantic one week, and a few short weeks later I put my feet in the Pacific!

I think God orchestrated that. :) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). He has a loving heart and is incredibly gracious. I have other dreams in my heart now, and I don’t know what God will do with those—but I do know He is good, and that “those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).