Worshipping God as Good Changes Our Perspective

6 February 2021
Randy Wollf

Rainbow in a stormy sky

It’s easy to become jaded as we experience disappointments in life. We may think that God has abandoned us or is minimally involved in caring for us and the rest of the world. A certain way of thinking about God can seep into our lives. We may never say it out load, but our inner voice starts to say, “Maybe, God isn’t as good as I once thought. Why would a good God allow this to happen to me or on a larger scale, why does he allow global injustices to persist?”

Many biblical passages herald God’s goodness. Here’s a small sample:

Psalm 145:9 - “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

Psalm 34:8 - “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 33:5 - “The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

God’s goodness points to His unending generosity. He is for His creation. He is actively involved in caring for and blessing humans, the pinnacle of His creative work, but the rest of His creation, as well. This means that God’s purposes are good purposes; He has creation’s best interests in mind.

Now, of course, God in His sovereignty chose to allow sin to enter humanity. He gives us the freedom to choose for or against Him and His desires for us. This doesn’t undermine God’s goodness. What it does is it gives people a choice to follow or not follow His good path. Regardless of the choices we make, God continues to pour out His goodness on His creation – a creation hurt by sin.

The ultimate expression of God’s goodness was the gift of His son, Jesus. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, so that we might have eternal life. That’s God’s generous goodness in action.

The fact that we live in a well-ordered universe and on a planet that contains so much beauty and potential is an ongoing demonstration of God’s goodness.

Every day, we’re recipients of God’s good gifts. Indirectly, through all that God has embedded in His creation, like the ability to communicate, and through the advancements we’ve made in tending His creation, like listening to music that stirs our hearts. We’re also direct beneficiaries of His goodness as God answers our prayers, often doing far more than we could ever ask or imagine, when God leads us to repentance, forgives our sins as we confess them to Him, protects us from danger or supports us as we experience trials, and supplies us with unending resources to live life well for Him. That’s our good God.

So, what happens when we worship God deeply as Someone who is good? Think about a particularly difficult situation that you’re facing right now or recently experienced. Now, take a moment to think about God’s goodness and how you see or could see His goodness in this challenging example. Let’s go one step further and worship God as the One who take the various ingredients of life, some that don’t taste very good on their own like baking powder, mixes them together, adds some heat, and produces something good.

You see, it’s possible to see God’s goodness even in the midst of difficult circumstances. When we do so, we experience hope – hope that God is still working out His good purposes. We can trust Him in the midst of the storm because He knows what He’s doing and His ultimate plans are good. We can experience joy because, as James says, we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and as we let perseverance finish its work, we will become mature and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-5).

In 1 Peter 1:6-7, we see that trials refine our faith.

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that “our light and momentary troubles” produce eternal benefits that far outweigh the discomfort of the moment.

Yet, how do we respond well to life’s challenges? How do we see God’s goodness in the midst of strife? The writer of Hebrews encourages us to endure hardship as discipline (Hebrews 12:7). It’s important to recognize that the writer is not saying that all hardship is discipline; he’s simply asking us to view it in that way – to see difficulty as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Now, I like to golf. I’m not the best golfer in the world – a fact that was clearly demonstrated during one of our annual Wollf Golf Tournaments. One of the tee-offs had foot-high hedges that stretched for about 20 feet along either side. I promptly drove my first ball into one of those hedges. That was embarrassing, but those ball-sucking hedges were not done with me yet. I drove five balls into their clutches. As I went to retrieve my fifth ball (now lying 10 shots and not even off the tee-off), my dad and brother overhead me muttering, “What is God trying to teach me?”

Even though I cannot remember how deeply I was pondering the question at the time, it’s not a bad question to ask both on and off the golf course.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to talk about our loving Father who disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. It’s a painful process. Yet, it can produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

We are trained by life when we humbly respond to both painful and pleasant circumstance and earnestly seek to learn God’s lessons from both. What is my good God trying to teach me? Answering this question often requires prayerful processing guided by Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of supportive confidants.

I am told that Caribbean pine trees routinely withstand fierce hurricanes, long periods of drought, and even fire. But one thing they cannot tolerate is cultivation. In a well-kept yard with plenty of water and fertilizer, they often die.

We need adversity to grow stronger in Christ.

As Helen Keller testified: Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

God is good…all the time.

Blogs in the Worship Changes Our Perspective Series

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