“The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Psalm 33:5
You have no doubt heard it one hundred times by now. We are living in unprecedented times. Most of us are stuck inside, some feeling the weight of fear or anxiety, and nothing seems good in the world anymore. We wonder when it will all end. Most of all, we wonder about God.
Where is He?
Has He forgotten us?
Some of us may go so far as to wonder aloud, “I thought You were supposed to be a good God?!”
In troubling times like now, how can we know God is still good? How can we trust and believe He is who He says He is?
To find the answer, we must turn to the only source that truly understands who God is—the Bible.
Every Word is True
Throughout the Scriptures, we repeatedly read about God’s attributes. They’re not directly listed for us, but if we pay careful attention, we will find them.
First, it’s an important reminder that every word in the Bible is completely inerrant. Every single word of it—from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22—is true. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” which means when Scripture speaks, God speaks (Romans 9:17; Galatians 3:8). What’s more, no one can ever alter it (John 10:35; Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 16:17; Revelation 22:18-19).
With this truth in mind, we can read the Scriptures with confidence and believe that God is who He says He is. His attributes are holy, glorious, and true.
So, let’s get to it.
What are God’s attributes exactly? What evidence is there? And how does that alone make God good?
I love what Pastor Craig Groeschel of Life.Church said recently. He said who God is to us depends on what we know about Him. In other words, if we don’t know Him very well, it’s only because we don’t know much about Him. We don’t fully know His goodness.
So, what do you know about God’s goodness? A good place to begin is by looking at His fruit.
Gift of the Holy Spirit
When Jesus ascended back to the Father on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:9), He gave us all the Holy Spirit. (For clarity’s sake, Jesus had already given the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John 20:22. The Holy Spirit was given to the rest of us on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1.)
The Holy Spirit guides us into becoming more like Jesus. We learn what that looks like in Galatians 5:22-23,25.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law…If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
If these are the fruits we must show as we walk in the Spirit of Jesus, it follows, then these fruits must also belong to Jesus, Himself. These nine fruits (among countless others) are some of God’s attributes, all of them describing who He is.
The evidence of His goodness is in His fruit, and He shows it every day. Let’s examine this overwhelming evidence in our lives, according to Galatians 5:22-23.
God is Love
“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8
“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.” 1 John 4:16
“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34
“Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:26
“Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Joel 2:13
Fullness of Joy
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9
“Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place.” 1 Chronicles 16:27
“Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:12
Peace
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:15
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” John 14:27
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” 1 Corinthians 14:33
God is Patient
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another.” Romans 15:5
“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5
God is Kind
“Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:4
“But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Nehemiah9:17
“For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45
Faithfulness
“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness.” Psalm 33:4
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9
“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.” Psalm 36:5
God is Gentle
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench until He brings justice to victory.” Matthew 12:20
Self-Control
“For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” John 12:47
“And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But He answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:3-4
The Goodness of God
As we can see, the Bible is full of evidence that God’s fruit produces goodness. Here are a few other attributes.
God is Our Protector – “Jehovah Rohi,” The Lord is my Shepherd
Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own.”
Revelation 7:17, “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water.”
God is Our Healer – “Jehovah Rapha,” The Lord Who Heals
Psalm 103:2-3, “Bless the Lord, O my soul…who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.”
Psalm 147:3, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
1 Peter 2:24, “…by whose stripes you were healed.”
God Provides for Us – “Jehovah Jireh” – The Lord Will Provide
Genesis 22:13-14, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So, Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.’”
He is Our Strength – “Jehovah Uzi” – The Lord Our Strength
Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Deuteronomy 20:4. “For the LORD your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
Exodus 15:2, “The Lord is my strength and my defense.”
Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 91:2, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress.’”
God is SO Good
With so much evidence of God’s love, kindness, peace, strength, provision, and so much more, we can clearly see that God is indeed good. In fact, He’s not just good. He is SO good!
God is so good; He is abundant in mercy.
“For You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
He is so good; His righteousness goes before us.
“Yes, the Lord will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” Psalm 85:12-13
His mercy is endless.
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
His goodness is so plentiful; He stores it up for us.
“Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You.” Psalm 31:19
His goodness is available to anyone who wants it.
“The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalm 145:9
God’s goodness is boundless and rich in mercy. Surely, if we take the time to look at our lives, where we’ve been and what we’ve endured, we will see the evidence of God’s fingerprints of goodness all over us.
He cares for us and loves us in unfathomable ways.
The Final Word
The final evidence that God is so very good is that He willingly sent His only Son to die for our sins and conquer death so that we might have a path to eternal life with Him. It doesn’t get any better than that!
“For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
The world may seem out of our control right now. It may seem as if there is nothing good or anything to look forward to. But I assure you, God is still very good! He is on the throne, and His goodness is without measure.
As we wait for the Lord’s deliverance, let us remind ourselves of the overwhelming evidence of His love, compassion, faithfulness, strength, patience, and great goodness. Now is the time to look to the Scriptures and fall to our knees. Now is the time to fall in love with Him all over again.
“The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Psalm 33:5
Thank you. I needed to read this today.
So glad I could bless you. Thanks for reading.