God is Good - He is Virtuous, Excellent and Upright
Becky Boone Austin
Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.
Recently, my husband and I sold the home where we lived for twenty years and moved to a small town nearby. While I still work at the same job, my commute has changed. Rather than having eight minutes and two elementary schools to drive by with all its chaos of moms getting kids to school on time, I now drive the freeway and fight all the crazy drivers late for work! Same chaos – different form. In my life, I find I have become familiar with the chaos I am used to, and it no longer feels like chaos. But when the chaos changes, I focus on what is different. Unfortunately, when I focus on what is different, I usually miss God's daily goodness toward me.
With my new commute, I have learned to leave for work earlier to avoid rush-hour traffic. Earlier in January, I went to work later than anticipated. As I entered the freeway, the traffic was back up. But my focus was on the freeway condition a good ½ mile ahead of me, and where I was focused, that traffic was moving. I did not see the person in front of me had their brakes on. Then something alerted me and brought my attention to the present! Brakes quickly applied! And I made it safely to work while glancing at the traffic ahead of me but staying very attune to the condition of the traffic around me.
This example illustrates how to see the goodness of God in our daily lives. If I am so focused on wanting out of my situation, I miss God's goodness in the present. If I am not intentionally looking for God's goodness in my daily life, I will plow through my day and miss noticing God's small but impactful goodness towards me.
What does it mean to see God's goodness in my daily living?
1. A mindful choice. A foundational understanding that my circumstances are not a direct reflection of God's love or dislike of me. Then whether my circumstances are pleasant or challenging, I choose to believe these circumstances have been filtered through God's hands. In his sovereignty and desire to mold me into a masterpiece, he has allowed these circumstances into my life for my good. (Ephesians 2:10) Granted, I don't always feel this way when I am smack in the middle of my pain, hurt, disappointment, or discouragement. Nevertheless, knowing God's goodness is a foundation for me to rest my emotions in during challenging and difficult times. Otherwise, it feels like he is giving me a stone rather than a good gift. Armed with the knowledge of God's goodness, I begin to look for God's goodness toward me. Sometimes it can be an encouraging text from a friend, soaking in the beauty of a sunset, or praying scripture more than ranting at the Lord!
2. Good Dirt. My grandchildren's favorite toy is dirt. You can make and mold dirt in many different ways. In a recent stay at my son and daughter-in-law's house, the kids rushed through their morning chores to get outside and play…in the dirt! One had created mounds of dirt for his trucks to go over, and the other was making "brownies" with her dirt. I have found that God does his best work with dirt. In the Genesis story, what did He do with dirt? He breathed the breath of life into it, and man was formed. (Genesis 2:7) I despise the grounding to dust because I don't have God's eyes on the masterpieces he creates. The grinding makes me feel weak. The grinding removes the props I have created that uphold my identity rather than the identity he created me to have. The grinding removes my pride, greed, jealousy, and unforgiveness. As he breathes back into me the breath of Life, I am reshaped with love, mercy, kindness, peace, patience, and long-suffering.
3. Deep Cleanse. As God's goodness penetrates my thoughts and breathes new life into the dirt of my life, I am left clean. He is not interested in only washing the outside of my life, but cleaning the inside. (Luke 11:38-40).
Our new home had been neglected by its previous tenants. The windows were covered with a thick film of hard water. Recently, we had the windows professionally cleaned to remove the hard water stains. Afterward, I could not believe how much more light came through the windows. Sometimes during difficult circumstances, all I can see is the "hard water stains" in my life rather than the deep cleansing he is doing to bring in the light.
To see God's goodness in my daily living, I have to stay present and not look too far into a future that is still unknown. Although I am learning to stay present, I must start with a mindful choice that grounds my emotions in truth. During a recent hard season, I found repeating a refrain I learned from Lysa TerKerurst: “God is good, God is good to me, and God is good at being God” helped my mind and emotions stay focused on truth. Then, I remembered the past areas where God used grinding-to-dust to bring new life into me, providing hope. And finally, I tried to lean into the area of light where the "film" of my life has been removed.
In my studies of God's attributes, I have marveled at how intertwined his attributes are together. If he were only good, this goodness would be imbalanced. But because he is just, merciful, kind, patient, all-knowing, all-wise (and many more), I can trust his Goodness when my circumstances don't feel good to me.