God’s Goodness

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever”.
Psalm 23:5-6 NLT

The last verse of Psalm 23 wraps up this wonderful poem of God’s provision. After writing down all the wonderful things God has done for him, David concludes that they will be there for him for the rest of his life. God’s provision, His giving, was not just a one-off for David; he knew that there was no limit to God and His resources. God keeps on giving and giving, on and on, until the Earth-years draw to an end. And David knew that even then, there was a feast prepared for him, ready and waiting to be shown to his place at the table. 

I love the NLT translation of verse 6 – “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life” (emphasis mine). Other translations use the word “follow” rather than “pursue”, but the word “pursue” builds for me a picture of an active God, not just intent on keeping up with what I am doing, but influencing my thoughts, and leading and guiding my life in the right paths.

In a little village near St Andrews in Scotland, there is a church, its architecture seemingly at odds with the houses around it. A bell proudly displayed on a simple tower at the top, the walls constructed of stone probably cut in a nearby quarry, a slate roof immune to the storms that occasionally blast their way over that part of Fife, and a wayside pulpit declaring the denomination and the next Sunday service. Walking past one day, I saw that the front door was lying open, so I thought I would take a peep inside to see what it was like. There were two ladies cleaning the pews and other surfaces, and in subsequent conversations I discovered that the following Sunday service was the last to be held there. The congregation had dwindled away to a handful of elderly members, and the services were no longer viable. An air of gloom was present because those ladies loved that church and they were mourning its passing, not sure what they themselves were going to do. I shared with them the thought that God was always going to be there for them because He had promised them that His “goodness and unfailing love” is going to “pursue [them] all the days of [their] lives”. That will always be the case, because God doesn’t live in buildings, no matter how nice they are. He lives in the hearts and minds of His followers, pursuing each and every one of them every day of their lives, with “goodness and unfailing love”. Hopefully I was able to encourage them in the next season of their walk with God.

But what is God’s goodness all about? The word “good” is one we use when things are going our ways. A bonus is paid at work and we say, “that’s good”. Someone does a favour for their neighbour, and they get the reputation for being a “good” person. But none of these acts come anywhere near what God’s goodness is all about. Jesus was asked a question that started with the respectful greeting, “Good Teacher”, to which He responded, ““Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good” (Luke 18:19). And that’s the thing – God’s goodness is unique and only He can make the claim for being “good”. God’s definition of “good” is one that includes all the aspects of His character, including His love, His righteousness, His holiness, His truthfulness, and so on. We know that if God’s goodness pursues us, then there is no higher standard. We will experience the best of the best. We may feel at times that the valley we are walking through doesn’t have much of what we could describe as “good” within it. Look at what happened to Joseph, kidnapped, sold as a slave, imprisoned, falsely accused, but in the end he could say to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20). Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them“. God will always pursue us to ensure our highest good, no matter what. And I’m sure that as we look back on our lives, we can see hard times, but with a good outcome afterwards.

God’s goodness pursues us, and that is always been the case. When Adam sinned what did he do? He and Eve ran away from God and tried to hide. but we read, “Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”” (Genesis 3:9). God has been pursuing mankind ever since, and the Bible records God’s extraordinary efforts to woo mankind back home. God desires our highest good and He pursues us throughout our lives. Perhaps we need to stop sometimes and listen to what God wants to say to us. It won’t harm us and will do us much good.

Dear Lord and Father, we humbly thank You today for Your loving kindness, Your goodness and mercy, and Your many blessings. Amen.

“I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.””
Psalm 16:2 NLT

We all have our own understanding of what we think a “good thing” is. We might consider a treasured family heirloom, or a gift from a friend. We might also think about good things that happen to us, like a legacy from a deceased relative, a tax rebate, or so other gift of money. And in a moment of romantic enthusiasm, a young wife might look at her husband and consider him a “good thing” (or vice versa of course). I’m writing this on Valentine’s Day and many today will look on their relationships, real or hoped for, as being “good things”. But any positive experience we have can be considered good because that is something we can discern and enjoy. And David, the Psalmist, attributes all his good experiences to God. Perhaps he was looking around at his property, his many wives, his silver and gold, or was there something far more significant?

On the other hand, we humans also experience bad things. We lose a job, or get involved in a road traffic accident. We catch a nasty illness, or break a leg skiing. A child gets sick and dies. These we would refer to as bad things, so if good things come from God, where do they come from? Simplistically, people would refer to the bad things in life as coming from the devil, sent to annoy and harass us because we have perhaps misbehaved in some way.

The good and bad experiences in life are all part of living as human beings. A world, fallen because of sin, is not a predictable place to live in, apart from one factor – God. And that is the point that David was making. God is the source of the good things in life, whether or not the people who receive them know Him. In Matthew 5:45b, Jesus said, “ …  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike”. In other words, God has taken steps to ensure that this world, and everything within it, is sustained by “good things” originating with Him.

To come back to our verse from Psalm 16 today, David starts by acknowledging his relationship with God, his Lord and Master. To him, this is real, vibrant, and life-changing. David’s relationship with the Lord has made him a different person to what he could have been, and the result brought him a totally different perspective on life. When a “good thing” happened to David he had Someone to thank for it, and he realised that even if bad things happened to him, he could turn to God for the comfort and solace he needed. David was a man who lived a life of closeness with God, and although there were times when he failed, he always returned to his place of safety. 

James wrote, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow” (James 1:17). David knew this of course, and he also wrote Psalm 23, the last verse of which reads, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever”. 

We all know people who, although not believers, claim to be “good” people, and because of that they see no need to repent of sins. They live lives blissfully ignorant, or so it seems, of the concept that Paul wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But we pray for them, that God will open their eyes. We pilgrims are tasked with presenting the Gospel and we know that it is up to the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin. Referring to the coming Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment”(John 16:8). 

In the meantime, we pilgrims look around and see the goodness of God. All our lives He has pursued us with His goodness. All our lives He has blessed us with so much, even when at times we fail to see it. And He will continue to do so until we draw our last breath. In Heaven, we will see the Source of all “good things” at last and, prostrate before Him, we will be able to truly thank Him for all He did in our lives. We will be amazed, I’m sure, about the extent of all the “good things” that God has done.

Dear Heavenly Father. On our knees this morning we offer up our prayers of thanks, in praise and worship of the One who made it all possible at Calvary. Thank You. Amen.

“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.”
Psalm 13:5-6 NLT

Some words to describe God appear in these last two verses of Psalm 13. Lover, Rescuer, and the declaration that God is good. In response, the Psalmist declares his trust, rejoicing and singing. A lovely picture of the relationship between David and his Lord, and one we would do well to emulate. What is our relationship with God like? Can we testify about His unfailing love or His goodness? Has God rescued us from some crisis or other in our lives? Do we go about our days singing our praises to the One who is good? Or do we struggle to even pray some mornings and start the days quickly drawn into a maelstrom of busy-ness and stress, God soon pushed to the rear of our thoughts if He even appeared in the first place? But it is because of God and all that He is to us, that means we can have a different perspective powering our lives. 

We pilgrims have found the sweet spot that somehow reconciles living in two kingdoms. In the one, we enjoy a relationship with God, where we can converse with Him, sing to Him, and enjoy His presence, full of His love and goodness. In the other, we find ourselves in a secular world that doesn’t know God and instead worships a system underpinned by sin and evil. A “what’s in it for me” society out of sync with God’s plan. I honestly don’t know how Godless and unbelieving people can ever survive in the societies in which they live. The only “goodness” they experience, if at all, is a shrivelled caricature of the goodness that can only be found through a relationship with God. And we pilgrims have an opportunity to bring God’s kingdom into the world around us, salt and light in a world of darkness, a world desperate for illumination and relief to people just as their Creator intended. 

But we know that God is good. There is nothing bad about God at all. His holiness and purity ensure that His goodness is also pure and holy. I love how Psalm 23 concludes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever”. God’s goodness is always there for us, pursuing us through the otherwise dark days that lack anything good about them. We go through life with all of God’s resources empowering us, the Holy Spirit within us, the certainty of God’s love and goodness there within reach, refreshing our otherwise thirsty souls.

We can’t, of course, retain the benefits of God’s goodness all to ourselves. Paul wrote, “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith” (Galatians 6:10). We are dispensers of God’s goodness to those around us. How can the lost folk in our communities ever know that God is good unless they experience His goodness for themselves? We are shining lights illuminating the world around us, but what good is it if we hide our lights “under a bushel”, thus appearing just as dark as everyone else? 

David couldn’t hold in His response to God, and because of His goodness, David sang. Songs of praises and worship. Songs of thanks. Songs that describe all that God had done for him. What songs are we singing today? But no matter how or what we sing to God, we can be assured that angels are joining in, swelling the songs of praise to our wonderful and gracious God. Sometimes we can even hear the refrain in the Heavens – if we listen. 

Dear Heavenly Father. Sometimes we do hear the song of angels worshipping You before Your throne. We pray that we have the opportunity to join in the Heavenly anthems, adding our worship, that is rightfully Yours to receive, and tuning our spiritual ears to hear the Heavenly choir. Amen.