“Good” is one of those words in the dictionary that has a much longer than expected definition. Here’s a partial listing of synonyms you could use for the word “good”: effective, efficient, beneficial, unspoiled, uncontaminated, valid, genuine, real, healthy, strong, vigorous, enjoyable, desirable, pleasant, sound, honorable, worthy, respectable, reliable, right, thorough, complete, excellent, adequate, ample, sufficient, satisfying, virtuous, honest, kind, benevolent, generous, sympathetic, proper, becoming, correct, able, skilled, expert, valid, loyal, full, meritorious, enduring. Within the dictionary’s quarter-page of small print definition of “good,” the comment is made, “good is a euphemism for God.” Again, according to Webster, that simply means that good could be used as a substitute for the word, God. We don’t do that theologically, but, theologically, and very practically, we do define God as good. Jesus Himself said, “No one is good except God alone.” The psalmist extols God for His goodness, but many other biblical writers uphold it as well. His goodness is the fabric of His character, and for us, it is the hope of every believer. We pray for its expression and sing its praises.
Many times I have heard the ecstasy of a heart that has watched a prodigal come home, a loved one survive the odds of a threatened prognosis, the individual protection of one against the onslaught of disaster or trauma, the restoration of a relationship, or the release from chronic, long term addiction. That ecstasy, wholly merited by the events that had transpired, exclaimed its overpowering emotion, with the words, “God is sooo good.” I too rejoice in those undeniable expressions of God’s goodness, but I want to shout for all to hear that God is good no matter what happens! My heart longs to wrap itself around the mom who struggles with infertility or the mom whose child died in a sudden, horrendous accident or the woman who gives with unrelenting grace to a difficult spouse or is hammered with the ugliness of depression – I want to tell these too that God is good! God’s goodness is not restricted to circumstances that delight us! His goodness is known in His presence. It is the essence of His comfort and encouragement, the warmth and quietness of His love and His peace. His goodness is to be pursued by every believer, to be known for its worthiness, its purity, its sufficiency, its reality. It is to be imitated and portrayed by our lives with its excellence, its virtue, its kindness, its enduring loyalty. O taste and see that the Lord is good. The Lord is compassionate and gracious. The lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. He has satisfied the thirsty soul. He is near to all who call upon Him. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 100:1-5)
