DO YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD’S GOODNESS IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU?

Do you know that God’s goodness is available for you? Why do we struggle to receive God’s goodness? Why do we find it easier to accept God’s correction when we are out of alignment than it is to receive His rewards, which He so lovingly wants to lavish us with? It is clear from the Bible that God is our heavenly father. And He has the heart of a father. Let us not forget that He is perfect, so He has the Perfect father’s heart. Every good father wants to give his kids the best and will go to any length to do that.

Now just picture the fact that our heavenly father, who is perfect, wants to lavish you and me with the perfect gifts. Can you picture it? He says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him and in Him, there is no shadow of shifting. 1 Timothy 6:17 says that we should trust in the one who lavished upon us all good things, fulfilling our every need.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

Reasons that lead you to doubt that God’s goodness is available for you.

Maybe you don’t want to admit it just yet, but I know at some point you have doubted God’s goodness. Maybe it is because of the things you are dealing with. Life circumstances can cause you to doubt God’s goodness, and it is okay to admit that.

Disappointment.

Anytime you get disappointed, it becomes hard for you to believe in God’s goodness. How can you believe in the goodness of God now yet in the times prior, He did not come through like you thought He would? Disappointments bury one’s faith and lead one to even doubt God’s power and character.

Have you experienced disappointing situations that have caused you to doubt God and His goodness? What are you facing right now? Is it contrary to His goodness? Did God promise you something that is yet to come to pass? Maybe your current situation is contrary to what God promised you? Or worse still, maybe the situation has died and there is no hope for resurrection. Regardless of the situation, you are facing disappointments that can cause you to become cynical.

First off, I want you to know God promises that when you put your trust in Him, He will never disappoint you. He has you in His heart and He constantly thinks about you. When you are disappointed, the best thing to do is remember that God is good and you will see His goodness in the land of the living. He wants that for you.

Culture.

Today’s culture emphasizes doing and self-reliance, so it is difficult to imagine God blessing you just because He wants to, even when you do not deserve it and haven’t earned it. Hard work is celebrated and it is essential to work hard, but with God, His blessings don’t have to be earned. You can only receive and accept His blessings. Because of the cancel culture, maybe you feel you are not worthy of God’s goodness because of your failures. And although you have a head knowledge of the fact that God is not a man, therefore He does not think like one, it could still be difficult to conceptualize it. God will never stop running after you. He will chase you down and will not give up on you after one mistake. Don’t allow shame to tell you otherwise. God will never stop loving you and you have access to His goodness every time.

The Bible in Romans 12 tells us not to conform to culture, but to have our minds renewed. Maybe it is time for you to stop focusing on what culture is saying. And instead, turn your focus on what God is saying.

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Relationship with your parent/ guardians.

The lenses we use to view God stem from the relationship we have with those in authority over us. Therefore, if your parents are harsh and dictators, you will assume God is that way. Also, because of the culture where good behavior and grades are rewarded, one automatically assumes that God will only reward you when you do good and punish you when you do bad. But God is different because He is perfect and compassionate, and He is the epitome of love. And not just that, His love for you is based on who He is and not on what you do. Do not allow the culture to tell you any differently.

False beliefs and doctrines.

There are countless doctrines that say that God will reward only when we get to heaven and that here on earth, a Christian suffers. Because of this, people grow up missing out on God’s goodness because they simply don’t know it is available for them too. You know maybe it is time that we accept the fact that we were wrong about God. Read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify those false beliefs and then replace them with the truth. And that is the word of God.

Ignorance.

Because of living in the microwave generation, people don’t want to do things for themselves, and because of that, they end up missing out on God’s goodness. After all, you can only empower what you focus on, and, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So how will you empower His goodness when you don’t know? And how will you know if you don’t read the word?

The word of God contains all these nuggets and keys on how to access God’s love, His goodness, and His promises in our lives. But because of laziness, sometimes we cannot read the word and thus miss out. God’s people perish for lack of knowledge. So let’s read the Bible. Not just skimming through, but actually reading and studying the Bible. God has given us all the keys we need and now it is our mandate to read and follow the instructions so that we can inherit the fullness and abundance that God has set for you and me.

So then what’s the solution? What can you do to believe that God’s goodness is available for you?

Replace doubt with faith.

Every time you get tempted to doubt God’s faithfulness and goodness, replace it with the truth from the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Find out what the word of God says about His Character and will over your life. Does He want to bless you? Does God want to fill your life with His goodness? Find the scriptures that talk specifically about that. How can you know what the scriptures say about God’s character and His goodness if you do not read His word? Study scriptures like Psalm 23, Isaiah 45, 54, and 55, and Psalm 2, 20, and 91. Ephesians 3, and 1 Corinthians 2, are just examples of scriptures that talk about the goodness of God.

Obviously, there are many more. You can also narrow it down to specific scriptures that talk about the situation you need God to reveal His goodness. It could be in your health, family, finances, business, etc. Whatever the case just find scriptures that talk about Him. Just to give a quick example, let’s say you need a financial breakthrough, you could read scripture like Philippians 4:19, And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. You could even personalize it and say something like.

My God who has supplied and catered to my needs in the past will do the same even now because He does not change and because I am His child I have access to His riches which He graciously grants me through Jesus because of the finished work of the cross. Philippians 4:19

When you personalize scripture, you easily imprint it in your heart and remember it. This helps you in moments when you are in doubt and your mind tries to tell you otherwise.

Gain a revelation of who God is.

Until you understand who God IS, His heart, and His character, you will never believe in His goodness and His desire to bless you. How can you trust God’s goodness when you don’t even know that He is good? How can you know He is good if you do not have a revelation of who He is? And how will you know who He is if you do not read scriptures that reveal His character?

The Bible has all the answers to the questions that we might have about God. So I would encourage you to read about God’s character. And a good place to start would be in the book of Psalms. This book reveals God’s character in a simple and relatable way. The chapters show us how God can meet us right where we are and how, despite our shortcomings, He never stops being good to us.

In 2 Timothy, it says that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful because He can never deny Himself. That is who He is. So goodness, faithfulness, loving and compassionate is who He is.

Whenever David faced difficult situations, He knew God would show up for Him. And even when he messed up, God never left his side. He corrected him, but He never left him. He gave him victory over his enemies, healed him when he was sick, and forgave his sins when he repented. God showered His blessings on David and David testifies of that in the book of Psalms. So I just want to encourage you to spend time reading the book of Psalms to gain an understanding of who God is, His character, and His heart, too.

Spend time with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit wants to reveal to you every aspect of God and Jesus, as that is His role. But for Him to do that, you need to yield to Him. And this can only be done through spending time with Him, as this will help you to discern His voice. Prayer, worship, and reading the Bible are just some of how you can gain sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. And the other way is to ask Him. But remember to be expectant that He will speak when you ask Him.

Ask God for healing from disappointments,

Before you can receive and accept God’s goodness, you have to be healed from past disappointments. These disappointments clog our minds and weaken our faith to believe in the goodness of God. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, and after a while, one can become cynical about God’s goodness. God rewards those who diligently seek Him. It says so in His word, but it’s difficult to believe that when you have experienced continuous disappointments.

God, however, wants to heal you from that so that you can make room in your heart to receive His goodness. As you spend time in His word and in prayer, He will heal you and cause your faith to rise again and cause you to be expectant of His goodness in your life.

Have an expectant heart.

What you focus on, you empower, and when you are constantly thinking of God’s goodness, it will reflect in your life. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. What are you expecting and what’s your focus on? Instead of focusing on the negative, why don’t you focus on the positive and the goodness of God? You can shift and change your atmosphere and it all comes down to your mind. Allow the word of God to shape your life by constantly meditating on it.

Conclusion.

Do not doubt the existence of something because you lack exposure to it. Just because your life currently does not exemplify the goodness of God doesn’t mean that God’s goodness does not exist. It is available for you too and all you have to do is receive it. God always wants to bless you because He loves you and you are His child. However, you have to be open to receiving it and partner with what He wants to do in your life.

God is good, and He lavishly wants to give you all the good things because every good and perfect gift comes from Him. Stop doubting and start believing. His goodness, faithfulness and love is available for you too. Embrace it.