I'm not picking on these people. I've been one of them!
Lately God has shown me that one of the main reasons for lack of trust in His children is because they don't know Him. They just don't know His character and more importantly, they don't know how Good He is. So, I thought I'd expound on the goodness of God in the hopes that it would help you (and me) rest more easily as we trust in Him.
First of all, consider creation. God didn't have to make the world so beautiful for us to survive here. He didn't have to create flowers and herbs and mountains, oceans (my personal favorite), white beaches and turquoise waters! He didn't have to create waterfalls and glaciers and prairies, and adorable animals. Also, He didn't have to create such a wide variety of food that tastes good. But He did.
Friendship, love, marriage, laughter, the ability to work, skills, music, story, family--these are all things God created on this earth for our enjoyment and fulfillment. God has good plans for us. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope Jeremiah 29:11
As I read through the Scriptures, it just astounds me at how forgiving and loving God is. Take the Israelites, for example. How often did they turn away from Him. How often did they worship other gods? Or complain and grumble? Each time God forgave them. The moment they turned back to them, He was there bailing them out, blessing them with abundance.
God is the source of every good thing: Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow (James 1:17).
God does not withhold anything that is good from His children: For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).
God won't allow anything to happen to His children that is NOT good: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Ephesians 1:3-4
The goodness of God is evident in that He sent His only beloved Son to be rejected of men, suffer, and die on a cross so that mankind could be reconciled to God. He didn't have to do this. He owed us nothing. We are the ones who rejected Him, who like rebellious children, ran away to do our own thing.
God's goodness is the summation of His entire character. He is not only good. He is the essence of good. His mercy, grace, faithfulness, kindness, righteouness, power, justice, even His wrath.. it is all good. And perfect and holy. God can not be anything but good. It would go against His nature.
So the next time it appears your prayers aren't gettting answered or something horrible happens to you, no matter how hard it is, believe that God is allowing it for your good. He's delaying the answer to your prayer or perhaps working on it or perhaps the answer is no because God knows it would be bad for you if He answered yes.
And that bad situation, He's using for your good! You may not see it or understand it. But I can guarantee that if you believe in God's goodness, you'll have much more peace, no matter what happens to you. Just trust Him. Trust that God is good. And you'll make God happy in the process.
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