Praise God!
I speak on this special day of my birthday on
the subject “God is a Good God”. I shall draw some inspiration from the
goodness of the Lord from the creation story and how Good He was toward His
people, the Israelites, throughout the exodus and when they got to the Promised
Land, and finally the goodness of God under this new covenant established by
the Lord Jesus Christ.
I shall also relate the goodness of God to my own
life.
I have realized that many of them who don’t believe
in the existence of God primarily are unable to fathom the goodness of God.
Recently I met Vanessa, an American National who doesn’t believe in the existence
of God. After much interaction, I understood that her primary worry was her
inability to accept a God we claim is good.
She questioned; “How can a good God superintend
over wickedness of men? Why is it that children and women are afflicted and
oppressed by other people? Why don’t we have peace if indeed there is a good
God who you claim created us?”
Most atheists ask similar if not same questions.
But the worries of men do not change a dime of the goodness of God. If you live
in a fallen world under the watch of a fallen angel, you don’t expect anything
different from what we see in our days; do you?
God is always good!
The Encarta English Dictionary defines ‘good’
as “Having or showing a kind and generous disposition”. In other words, we can
say God is a kind God and a generous God!
God, out of His goodness made the universe- man
inclusive. Out of His goodness, He placed man in charge of His creation
(Genesis 1:26-30).
Man disobeyed and sinned against God. Since his
sinful nature would not allow him to live with the righteous God, he together
with his wife had to vacate the presence of God.
But the good God still cared for them. When
they were naked because of their disobedience, the good God didn’t live them to
their fate; He made garments of skin for them and clothed them. God covered
their nakedness and shamefulness.
The good God since the fall of man has been
covering our ‘nakedness’ and ‘disgracefulness’ which result from our
disobedience. When we followed after the pleasures of this world, when we
sinned and did that which pleased the flesh, when we chose the counsel of the ‘devil’
over that of God, we became ‘naked’.
We deserved to be disdained but the goodness of
God is higher than our iniquity. But for the goodness of God, we would have
remained the contempt of society. We have our ‘nakedness’ covered by the
goodness of God.
You remember that wrong decision you took and
where that decision landed you; but for the goodness of God.
The good God promised Abraham a land which
flows with milk and honey which He shall give to his descendants who later were
named Israelites. These people were God’s chosen people.Because of the goodness of God, He ‘descended’
to rescue them from oppressor’s rule (Exodus 3:7-10). With a mighty hand, the
Lord rescued His people, from the house of bondage (Deuteronomy 7:8)
Now hear me, because of the goodness of God, He
shall rescue you from any house of bondage. Anything that intimidates you is
taken away by the mighty hand of God in Jesus’ name.
If you are in despair and full of hopelessness,
the Lord is your hope. Somebody is building hope right now in Jesus’ name.
Before I completed Senior High School (then
Senior Secondary School), I took part in the West African Senior School
Certificate Examination (WASSCE) which is written within the months November
and December (NOV/DEC) and had a single-digit grade by the grace of God.
When I completed school the following year and
wrote the July WASSCE, I again –by same grace got single-digit grade and a
better one and so I was a sure candidate for university admissions.
But guess what; someway somehow I sorrowfully
lost my Auntie who cared for me during my senior high education. Hope was lost.
Things were difficult but the goodness of God remains. Time and space will not
permit me to narrate the whole story but I never saw myself in the university –
at least not within the first three to five years after SHS.
But the goodness of God will not permit me to
stay at home for not even a year. That same year I completed the Senior High
School, I got admission into the University of Ghana to read Bsc Administration.
The good God took care of me. Praise God!
Beloved, our God is good, and because of His
goodness, your sour story is changing to a sweet and amazing story.
The people of Israel offended the Lord time and
again as they journeyed to the Promised Land, but the Lord is abounding in
Goodness.
“The
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” –
Exodus 34:6-7.
The goodness of God preserved them till they
got to the Promised Land. They were kept by the goodness of God even in
captivity in Assyria and Babylon. Your circumstance is not above the goodness of God.
The goodness of God will always ensure that you
are safe even in ‘captivity’. But more importantly, you will be set free
eventually. Your captivity will never remain because of the goodness of the
Lord.
Now Jesus comes to save humanity from eternal
damnation because of the goodness of Good. He has freely given us all things
that pertain to life and godliness because of His goodness.
Beloved, are you distress and forsaken? Go to
the good God. I see God doing you good. Before this year ends, you shall have a
testimony. We know whom we have believed and are serving.
He did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob good. He did
Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth good. He did Daniel, Joseph, and Peter good. He did
Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah good. And your time is now!
May He do you good this week, may He do you
good this month, and may He do you good this year.
Remember always that God is a good God! God is
Good all the time!
Richard Adu Poku
Email: richardadupoku2045@gmail.com
Copyright 2018
