“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” Psalm 34:8

What do we mean when we say God is good?
It’s His nature: it’s who He is.
“You are good and do good” Psalm 119:68
“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” Psalm 31:19
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change”. James 1:17 

Our life circumstances change, from day to day, and with those changes our emotions change. We’re fickle – one day we’re up: the next we’re down, like the proverbial yo-yo! But God doesn’t change. Nothing alters the fact that He is, and always will be good. His Heart is kind, His Faithfulness endures and His mercy is unfailing.

Have you ever found yourself in a season of your life where you’ve forgotten God’s goodness?
It’s easy to shout the loudest “hallelujah,” when everything’s going well in life, isn’t it? But when you’re weighed down with with depression, or you can’t sleep at night because of anxiety over finances; when you have a teenager with addiction problems, your best friend has just died or your mother has cancer, it’s easy to become blinded to the goodness of God.

How do I “Taste and See” that God is Good?

1. Talk to Yourself

We all do it anyway, don’t we? But a lot of the time we make ourselves feel even worse with the things we tell ourselves! “I don’t know how I’m going to get through this”. I can’t do this”. “I feel so alone”. Until we feel like climbing back into bed and pulling the duvet over our head.

We are called to walk by faith. That often means, standing  on what we know to be true, even when we can’t seem to see it, in the moment.

I know that God is good. But sometimes life, and my own muddled thinking, blinds me temporarily to that fact. That’s when I need to do what David did – remind myself that my hope is in God and then worship Him despite how I’m feeling!
David talked to himself; Psalm 43:5 is a good example: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,my salvation and my God.”

This is a good model for us. I could say to myself “why are you letting circumstances get you down? You know in your heart of hearts that God is good. Has he ever let you down? No. Is there any reason He won’t come through for you now? Of course not! Put your hope in Him and stop looking at the circumstances. Praise Him, just because He’s good!”

2. Be Thankful:
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Psalm 107:1
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever!”

3. Remember That God is, always has been and always will be, Good.
Sometimes we won’t have an answer to our ‘why’s’ here in earth. We just need to trust that our Father, who loves us, sees the bigger picture: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8,9″

God is often blamed for everything that goes wrong in this life, and accused, ironically even by those who claim not to believe in Him, of being cruel and unjust. Earthquakes and natural disasters are even called “an act of God”.

But this is not true. It’s not who God is. The bad things that happen in the world are the consequences of man’s choices in a world separated from God. As for God – He is compassionate and full of mercy: Psalm 145:8-10
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

He has seen and recorded every tear you have ever shed in your entire life. His heart is moved with tender compassion towards you. Nothing escapes God’s notice:
“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” Psalm 56:8

Our God is, always has been and always will be, Good.

Jill 💜