Enjoying the goodness of God – Part 3
Ukachi
God’s goodness is His providence and benevolence over all His creation. His providence means His protective care, and His benevolence is His kindness to all. No one person enjoys all the goodness of God to the exclusion of others.
God in His providence extends a fair share of His goodness to everyone. His goodness is available to all to enjoy, and we can only enjoy it in the measure He makes it available to us (Psalm 33:5; 145:9).
In Psalm 31:19 the Psalmist declares, “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!” (Psalms 31:19 NKJV). Let us consider this text in bits and pieces.
First, “Oh, how great is Your goodness.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 states, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” What God has prepared for those who love Him are beyond words and human comprehension. God’s goodness is immense and indescribable. Paul says we get to know them by the Holy Spirit. It is amazing that despite the greatness of God’s goodness, we at times doubt and live in wonder at His generosity.
Second, “Which You have laid up for those who fear You.” The word “laid up” means that the blessings which God has reserved since eternity for those who fear Him. The ‘fear of the Lord’ here means those who reverence the Lord. There are many blessings and privileges, which God has in Christ for those that love Him (Psalm 61:5; 25:12-15). All the promised blessings of God consummate in Christ Jesus. He is the fulfillment of all the goodness of God. We access the blessings, which God has “laid up” for us in Christ by faith, prayer, perseverance, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the phrase “which you have prepared for those who trust in You,” means that the believers’ blessings in Christ have been “prepared” long ago in eternity. Those who trust God, and have faith in Him will access those blessings with time. Four, “In the presence of the sons of men!” God’s goodness is before all mankind.
Another text that speaks of God’s goodness is Psalm 84:11. “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” God as the sun gives light and heat. The sun sheds light on our pathway. God is also our shield. He protects us from all the storms of life. Like the sun, God guides us; as a shield, He protects us on the way. Hence we are not afraid.
C. H. Spurgeon comments, “the Lord has both grace and glory in abundance. Jesus is the fullness of both, and, as His chosen people, we shall receive both as a gift from the God of our salvation.”
Again, Spurgeon wrote, “Grace makes us walk uprightly and this secures every covenant blessing to us…God has all good, there is no good apart from him, and there is no good which he either needs to keep back or will on any account refuse us, if we are ready to receive it.”
Contact: pastoracukachi@gmail.com
