GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD
By A. Gene Veal

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”
Nahum 1:7

Christians can appreciate that “GOD IS LOVE.”  “So we know and rely on the love God has for us.”   When the Scripture says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” that is not to be applied to everyone in every circumstance of life.  It is specifically applied to “of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

In these articles we have also seen that God is the ONLY Good.  In saying God is the ONLY good, we do not mean God seeks to do what is called “good.”  God is not subject to what you and I think is good.  God is not subject (period).  What God does is good because God IS THE ONLY GOOD and what He does is good because HE DOES IT.  HE DEFINES GOOD.  GOOD DOES NOT DEFINE HIM.  It is the same with LIGHT, “in your light we see light.”  So also with LOVE, LIFE, etc.  Whatever the Scripture says “God IS” means that GOD DEFINES THAT THING, not the other way around.

So, if we ourselves are going to “be as god”, we think we can call this “good” and that “evil” and we become the judge of every thing and every one, even God.  But we are NOT god.  God is God and He will define GOOD for us, because He is not only the ONLY GOOD, GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD.  Every thing He does is GOOD because that is WHO HE IS.  God does not HAVE goodness.  GOD IS GOODNESS and what He does is ALWAYS GOOD.

If we couple these remarks with the fact that “without FAITH it is impossible to please God”, then we are prepared to “see God” in everything and know that what is - IS ALWAYS GOOD, for God has done it.  Our understanding may not be able to grasp all that God is doing in something, but “by faith” “we know God works in ALL THINGS for the good of them that are loving Him, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

By the way, we are not saying there is no evil.  We say what the Scriptures declare: “GOD WORKS IN ALL THINGS FOR THE GOOD” and “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?”  This is to say as Joseph told his brothers who had done horrible things to him, “as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save a great many people alive.”  No matter what wicked men, Satan, demon, circumstance, etc. has done, God, in His sovereignty, “meant it for good”.

It is so wonderful to know that, not only I don’t have to be in control, but He is in control and He is in control for my “good” and “His purpose”, which is ALWAYS GOOD.  This is “joy unspeakable and full of glory”.  This is “a hope steadfast and sure”.  This is “peace that passes all understanding”.  No matter what the circumstances are and no matter who the enemy is, GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD within that circumstance.  For you to “see” it requires “faith”, without which “it is impossible to please God.”

Many times when a person becomes a Christian, he thinks he is to judge everything and he is to determine what is good and what is evil.  The Scripture clearly tells us that new Christians “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”, but in Hebrews 5:11-14 we are told, “You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

So, if words mean anything, a newborn Christian “is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness”.  Not being “mature” he can’t “distinguish good from evil.”  If the Christian’s calling was to live according to “good and evil” he would be equipped to do so.  That is NOT his calling as a Christian.

Note Paul’s application of the Gospel to these Christians:

2Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
 5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is glad to see that they are growing in faith and love and that they are persevering in persecutions and trials they suffer for the Kingdom of God.  They are not to “worry” about justice and what is right and fair because God is Just and He will do the judging and punishing of others who bring about this persecution they are suffering.  They are to rest in the knowledge that God is working in all of this for His purpose and their good.  This is all done by His power so that He will receive all the glory from this Him in you and you in Him arrangement “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul is seeing a people who, instead of being filled with moaning and groaning over the suffering as if God had nothing to do with it, they rather have “perseverance and faith (in God) in all the persecutions and trials” they are enduring.

Oh, dear Christian, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”  Know that “goodness and mercy shall follow” you all the days of your life.  Say with the Psalmist, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”  Know that “Yes, the LORD will give what is good” and “The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  As Jesus declared of Himself, “I am the good shepherd” and “The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land - for how great is its goodness and how great its beauty!”  We prosper as He defines prosperity.  We live as He defines life.  “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."”

GOD IS GOOD!  GOD IS THE ONLY GOOD!  GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD.  “I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on THY NAME; for it is good before thy saints.” 

“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.”

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