Preface to the Study
The Goodness of God is a vital doctrine for believers to meditate upon. Our times of depression and discouragement can all be traced to our failure to remember the goodness of God toward us. In times of trials, we are all tempted to cry out to God and question His love for us. “If you love me, Lord, why did you let this happen?” is frequently the cry of believers under duress. But a remembrance of the goodness of God toward us would serve to dispel any doubts about God’s goodness, even in allowing the present trial we face.
Likewise, our failure to resist temptation can likewise be traced to thinking that God is not being “good” to us. Consider Satan’s temptation of Eve in the Garden; especially when Adam and Eve have forgotten that God gave them to eat of all the trees freely, except one! Had they considered God’s goodness, they might not have so easily succumbed to Satan’s temptation.
Finally, our inadequate praise for God is often traceable to our failure to think upon all that the Lord has done for us and given to us. Even our evangelism often lacks a presentation of the goodness of God as that which leads me to repentance, as the Apostle Paul notes in Romans 2:5. Let us meditate often upon His goodness that we may be full of love and trust in Him who displays His goodness toward us in so many ways!
The articles in this issue have been chosen as an encouragement to you in many areas. In reflecting upon the death of my own wife, I have been drawn continually back to think upon God’s great goodness to me, even in granting me the great joy of having such a wonderful spouse for all these years. If I could not see the goodness of God in the land of the living, then my grief would be much more difficult to deal with. But God has given us twin pillars of comfort for such times of grief: the certain hope of the resurrection where we will be united once again, and the constant evidence of His goodness now, in the land of the living. So our grief is moderated and even turned to joy by these two great truths.
May you too be blessed by these reminders of the goodness of God toward you!
By His Grace, Jim
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