Are you experiencing difficult times? The Bible teaches us to expect to experience the goodness of God MORE during difficult times. This blog explains how.
When we declare in our morning prayers the goodness of God, we are not just declaring His character but an expectation that we will experience that goodness today. This was the expectation of many of the Psalmists.
I want to show that this a realistic expectation in trying circumstances and how we can rise above our circumstances by experiencing more of God’s goodness. So here are four reasons for this expectation:
1. God wants to reveal who He is
God has a big interest in revealing His goodness because it is who He is. To discover more of the goodness of God is to get to know Him better. This is especially true in difficult times because He is the God of compassion. He longs to reach out to us during painful times.
2. God wants to transform our situation
Heb 6:5 talks about “tasting the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age”. When we taste more of God’s goodness we bring some more of heaven to earth. It can bring us great comfort and also transform and change our situations.
3. The goodness of God is greater than our moral failures
When Moses asks God, “Now show me your glory!” God responds by revealing His goodness. God says:
“I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence”
Notice that this happens just after the awful incident of the calf idol. God proclaims His goodness, compassion and mercy to Moses and to the Israelites after this huge botch up.
In fact, the times when we can most experience the goodness of God are in the difficult times. He loves to show us His goodness then because He is reaching out to us with compassion.
4. If we are not experiencing God’s goodness there is a reason
In difficult and painful times it can seem we experience less of God’s goodness. Why is this? What happens is that out of pain or doubt or confusion, we put up barriers to God because we question His goodness, hindering the experience of God’s goodness at these times.
Moses did not do this and had one of the greatest experiences of the presence of God in the OT. This should awaken us to the opportunities if we don’t allow changing circumstances to make us question God’s goodness. By changing our mindset and declaring instead the truth about the goodness of God we can experience it even more in the difficult times.
In Ps 86:14-17 David is being attacked by ruthless men who want to kill him. It is at this time he praises God for His compassion and love and then asks God for a “sign of His goodness”:
“Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me” (vs 17)
So being open to receive the goodness of God can also be a powerful instrument in changing those that oppose us.
Footprints in the sand
The famous poem, “Footprints” expresses something similar:
One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
Jesus is always with us and helps us during our most troublesome times, but either we don’t see it, as in the poem, or we put up barriers to him giving more of his grace and goodness to us.
Conclusion
The Bible teaches us to expect to experience the goodness of God more during difficult times or desert times. So during such times we should declare His goodness and kindness in all areas of our lives even more. We should tell Him that we love Him and we trust Him to send mercies to us. He will be faithful to His character.
For more revelation on the goodness of God, see “GOODNESS OF GOD: 5 ways it is radically transforming my life“.