God is Good

by Nicole Cifuentes

I remain confident of this: I will see the

goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

-Psalm 27:13

Goodness on the Mountain

If you all read last week's devotional God is Faithful then you know my heart is going through some hard things. Our family is living in the in-between from a God-given promise until fulfillment. It's been one of the harder seasons of my life (although to be honest each season has its hardships).

I remember the first time I drove up to our land. We had taken a HUGE God trust step and purchased the land with my parents without ever seeing it. The short is we had seen the area, and been to the local town, but had to return to our home state of Georgia at the time without knowing the exact land. My parents (who also fell in love with the area), continued the search for a home for us. We trusted not just in them that the land was the right one, but also in God that we were making a good choice. Fast forward a couple of months and I finally had the chance to come back out to Wyoming to see our new land. Driving up to it was MAGICAL. It was the most picturesque view of Laramie Peak. There were deer and antelope along the road. The skies were blue and the air was crisp. MAGICAL.

I got to take the time on that first trip to walk the entire 40 acres of land with my dad to view possible sites for our future home. We got to the area where he wanted to put our family cemetery and we sat on this little hill. At that moment, looking out over the valley in between and the mountain to the top, I knew it was the site of my dream. I could hear the lyrics from the song "My Soul Sings" by Maverick City Music playing in my head:

"I’ve seen your goodness on the mountain

I’ve felt your love in the valley

And your grace still surrounds

You’ve been good to me, you’ve been good to me

My soul sings"

I still cry thinking of that moment.

Even if it takes 15 years to get to live there, the fact that God would be willing to bless our little family with its magic still takes my breath away. It's been rough though. I don't always feel that way. When we were told we were not welcome by the neighbors to use their maintained road, I felt like an outcast. When the other ranchers said we couldn't improve the easement road which is un-passable in winter, I felt hopeless. When my husband struggled to find a job those first months here I questioned if the promise was really for us. Each month that passes, the flesh parts of me war against the spiritual; questioning, arguing, and fighting against that knowledge that God is good. But I know that HE IS GOOD.

God is Good

If there was ever a person to question God's goodness, it would be David.

If you don't know the full story of David, follow his story in your application process this week. The summary is this: David was the youngest of multiple brothers. He was a lowly shepherd boy. He was so young and little he didn't even hold the respect of his brothers and father. Even through this, God appointed him privately to be anointed as King of Israel. After his appointment, he had to go back to normal life. He was a gifted musician and spent years serving under the current King Saul and herding sheep. Then came the great war and his fight against Goliath. After becoming a hero- he became an enemy of the king who then spent years chasing after David and trying to kill him. Finally, 15 years after becoming anointed and after many trials, David watched God defeat Saul and he became the rightful King.

Even in his trials, David writes this:

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him

- Psalm 34:8

Goodness stretches in all time. Goodness is when the right thing happens. It's when the truth comes out. It's when heroes prosper and the enemy is defeated. It's when love wins against evil and when kindness defeats the cruel. Goodness brings prosperity and hope to all. It's the glue that builds up and the foundation which allows us to remain steadfast. Without goodness, we would not continue. We would fall apart. We would die.

Pastor Ray Pritchard says that…

God's goodness is the answer to the question: Is this a friendly universe? The answer is yes; when we come to the end of our thinking we find that behind the vastness of this universe stands a God who cares about what he has made. He is not indifferent (as in stoicism) or undecided (as in dualism) or absent (as in atheism), but he is fully involved for the good of the universe because he himself is a good God. (God is So Good - Recommended Sermon from Dr Pritchard. He discusses numerous practical ways that God is good to the unsaved and the saved)

Finding Goodness

For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

- 1 Corinthians 13:12

If you are struggling with finding good in the world, lean into God. Only when you know him in full will you see that he is truly a good good father. As you get to know his character, you will start to see him more and more. The picture of who he is will become more clear. In the ancient days when the above passage was written, mirrors were not as quality as the ones we use today. They were still made up of reflective materials, but they were blurry and disfigured. Even today's mirrors are not the full image of what we are, but rather a backward image of what others see. Only through time will you see the wholeness of God, and when you do so, then you will know what goodness looks like.

There is an exercise you can do in order to help turn your mind to good. It is used by many therapists and is found in multiple self-help texts. You likely also already know of it, just might need to be reminded of why it's so powerful.

What is it? Daily Gratitude.

It's so simple. The way to change your mind is to change your focus. A daily gratitude list is an easy way to literally refocus on what is good. Every night as you are getting ready for bed, make a list of three good things that happened in the day.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.- Philippians 4:8

Closing

In all things seek God. It is easy to despair and see that this world is full of evil and not good. Change your perspective and force yourself to look for the good. It's not easy or a lifelong curse. This life is full of ups and downs. Today you may be living in the land of blessings, or you may be in your darkest valley. Just remember, at the heart of everything is God's goodness. God doesn't just appear good, HE IS GOOD and he is not just good in general but he is good to us. Let us focus on that goodness and let it fill us this week.

Prayer

My good, good father,

I recognize your innate goodness and that goodness is something you wish to share with me. Even in the valley I know you are still good. And on our highest mountains you are still good. I release all my painful thoughts against your goodness. Forgive me for believing you don't have my best interest at heart or that you are a hurtful God. Keep my heart in check that I will always believe in how good you really are. I love you Lord.

______________

Hey sweet lady, we want to take a quick minute to guide your next steps with the scripture and application portion. We believe that in order to truly grow closer to God, we need to spend time dwelling on what he’s trying to teach us and not rush through it. We encourage you to spend a full week dwelling on this devotional and all it has to offer you. That means you can save some of the scripture passages for another day or re-read them in the week. We also encourage you to take your time with the application portion. You can sit in each prompt until you feel God revealing his truths to you. Don’t rush, take time to truly get to know him better by sitting in what he’s trying to teach you this week. That's where your faith will grow.

Scripture for Deeper Study:

Follow the Story of David in these passages:

• 1 Samuel 16

• 1 Samuel 17

• 1 Samuel 19

• 1 Samuel 23-24

• 1 Samuel 31

• 2 Samuel 2

Psalms of goodness

• Psalm 25:8-9

• Psalm 31:19

• Psalm 107:1

• Psalm119:68

Application:

• Journal where you have seen God's goodness in your life.

• Write your gratitude list this week, at least three every day.

• Think about why God being good matters to the gospel.