A few years ago, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to my heart very clearly. He said, “Preach the goodness of God and fear not the reproach of men.”
It sounded like a simple subject at the time. But as I began to search out what the Bible has to say about God’s goodness, I found it was a theme that ran from Genesis to Revelation. The more I studied about it, the more I found. It has absolutely amazed me to see how much the Scriptures talk about the goodness of God.
Why do you suppose the Bible—from front to back, Old Testament and New—would so strongly emphasize the simple truth that God is good? Because it is the foundation of our faith in Him (Ps. 27:13).
The more we know God’s goodness, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the easier it is for us to put our lives into His hands. And only by placing our lives in His hands can we open the way for Him to save us and bless us and work through us, so that His wonderful will can be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
I saw this firsthand when I began teaching on the goodness of God in healing services. As people understood God’s goodness, they found it easy to trust Him. That trust enabled them to open their hearts to His healing power, and we saw more miracles and healing than before.
When they saw from the Word that it is the “Father’s good pleasure to give [them] the kingdom” (Luke 12:32) and that “no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11), they realized God was for them and not against them. The truth dawned on their hearts that He was not holding out on them. He was not trying to keep healing away from them.
Instead, because He loves to do good, He was endeavoring to help them. Seeing that, they were able to relax and by faith receive what they needed from Him.
My prayer is that the same thing will happen to you. The revelation of God’s goodness will help you receive from Him whatever you need.
You Can Trust Him With Your Life
Think of the times when you sensed the Lord calling you to do something new, to make a change in your life. Like Peter, you heard the voice of the Master calling you across the water of life to new levels in Him. You heard Him say, “Come!” You wanted to step out of your little comfort zone and walk on the water … but you didn’t.
Fear stopped you. You saw the wind and the waves in the circumstances around you. You grew timid and shrank back.
If so, don’t feel condemned. Instead, let the truths of God’s Word begin to strengthen your faith. Let them inspire you to find out more about the goodness of God. Feed your heart on that goodness until your confidence grows and you know you can trust Him, not just with your eternal salvation but with every aspect of your earthly life as well.
Until you settle the fact that God is good and you can trust Him with your life, your faith is never going to be great because you will always draw back in fear. You will always be thinking: What if He doesn’t come through for me? What if He is not listening to me? What if He asks me to do something that will harm me in some way?
However, once your heart grasps the goodness of God, you won’t be plagued by those questions. You’ll be confident in the fact that He will never hurt you. He will never abandon you or let you down. As long as you follow Him, He will always be there—loving you, helping you and blessing you.
If He asks you to, you’ll be bold enough to walk on the water because you know His goodness will support you and keep you afloat.
Gloria Copeland is an internationally known Bible teacher and author.
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