Prophet’s Reading Plan: Isaiah 60-63
And the fruit of the Spirit is… goodness…
Psalm 116:12 (NIV) How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
The
goodness of God is so great; we cannot repay Him for anything He has done. We need God, but God will never be in a
position where He will need anything from us. We cannot repay, we can only respond.
Peter
tells us that through the goodness and glory of God, we have been given
everything we need for life and godly living. Through His promises and His
goodness, we can escape the world’s corruption and our own evil desires. And
because of this, he says, we are to do more than just put our faith in God. We
are to add to our faith goodness,
knowledge, self-control and a host of other things. (2 Peter 1) In response to
what God has done, we must put our trust in Him AND we must do good.
Goodness
is a more active quality than kindness. Goodness is to see a need and meet it,
thus it requires a generosity that overflows from kindness. As believers we are
to be the hands and feet of our Lord. Jesus invested into people. He didn’t
just pat the children on the head as He walked by; He called them over and sat
with them. He didn’t just pray for the sick; He healed them and forgave their
sins. He didn’t just allow His disciples to watch Him in action; He walked with
them and taught them the ways of the Father.
Kindness
is the outskirts of goodness. God will ask us to venture past the kind words
and encouragements and get our hands “dirty” serving people with love and
generosity, mirroring the goodness of Christ to a desperate world.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
1. Ask Got to fill your heart with joy and thanksgiving in
response to His goodness. When you are ready, ask Him for specific ways that He
wants you to respond to His goodness today through active service.
2. What are some things on your heart and mind that could
stand in the way of you showing goodness to others today? Will you entrust
these worries to the care of Christ?
3. Ask God to give you a word or picture or thought about
your day today; ask him for anything specific He’d like to say.
