History Books in 90 Days: 2 Kings 15-17
The Goodness of God
Psalm 31:19 How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which
You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You. (NIV)
The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good
will toward men. God does not act toward us as we deserve. We are sinners, condemned to death
yet because of God’s goodness we can have eternal life. He is tender-hearted and full of sympathy.
His very nature inclines Him to bless us and take pleasure in the happiness of His people. God’s
goodness is either taught or implied on every page of the Bible, it is the foundation for all right
thinking about God. If God is not good there can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty.
The goodness of God is the drive behind all the blessings He daily bestows upon us. God’s
goodness is the basis for all of His acts. Since God is never changes, the intensity of His goodness
never fluctuates. He has never been kinder than He is now and He will never be less kind. He
makes His kindness shine on the evil and the righteous, rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matt
5:45). The cause of His goodness is Himself, the recipients of His goodness are all people –
without deserving it because there can be no merit in human conduct. Not even the purest and the
best deserve God’s goodness and love. Repentance, though necessary, is a condition for receiving
the gracious gift of pardon which God gives of His goodness. God hears and answers prayers
because He is good, not because He is obligated to for God cannot be in debt to anyone. Our
whole outlook would change if we could truly live out our belief that God is good!
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Have you sometimes struggled with wanting better treatment from God than others because
you feel you are more righteous than they are? Do you try to earn God’s goodness?
2. Do you struggle when God sends rain (blessings) on the unjust? How is this not a conflict in
His character?
3. Thank the Lord for His goodness towards you, ask Him to give you a word, thought or picture
about His goodness towards you today.
