Battle #2 - Goodness of God?

(part 3 of “how to fight your battles”)

Last year around this time, I did a series called “Good God” surrounding the question “is God really a good God”? You can check out the series by following the links below [1]. But once again, if you’re like me, this question can be a battle. Some things happen in life that causes us to question God’s goodness in midst of what is happening. God used the song we are looking at in this post to reveal a way to see God’s goodness that we can sometimes miss. Let’s dive in.

First, let’s pick up with the story we referenced in the first post of this series. In Exodus 14, we see the Israelite people freed from Egypt and they are between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian army. God tells them to be still and He parts the Red Sea making a clear dry path for them to walk across. When they get to the other side of the Red Sea, the Israelite people realize that they are in the desert and start whining that they were better off back in Egypt because they had food and water there. God hears them and provides food and water for them [2]. God came through for them and He would continue to do so all throughout their story.

Now let’s fast forward a bit. The Israelite people are now in captivity in Babylon. God was about to do something big for them just as He had done with the Egyptians. We see this unfold in Isaiah 43.

“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of.’” - Isaiah 43:14 NLT

I don’t know about you, but those words of power from God give me chills. God was going take out Babylon. God goes on with His words to the Israelite people:

“I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King. I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.” - Isaiah 43:15-17 NLT

God reminds Israel of His goodness to them and how He had come through from them with Egypt. God also is telling them that He is still there as He always has been. He never left their side.

But here is where the question of God’s goodness came in for Israel. They were in captivity... again. How is that good? How is God good? This is where we get caught up in the battle with those very same questions. We start to see our situations, our circumstances, we start to analyze them, and within our processing of the whole situation, we can conclude that there is nothing good to come from this. We start to lean on our own understanding of the situation instead of trusting God (Proverbs 3:5-6). I believe this why God reminded Israel of what He had done for them in the past. He reminded them of His goodness.

This is what I get out of all this. We need to remember God’s goodness from the past to see it in the future. When we are faced with a challenge ahead of us, we can’t always see how it is going to end up good. It is in those moments that we start to doubt the goodness of God. But, if we look to the past for the gentle reminders of God’s goodness in our life, we will know that no matter how things look now God’s goodness will come through as it always has! But God also makes it clear to not dwell on how He’s done things in the past because He’s always doing things in new ways (Isaiah 43:18-19, NLT).

The song that has been a good reminder of this for me is “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music. When I first heard this song, my church was having online services only. But I immediately grew attached to the words of the song and mainly the first verse and chorus. Here are the words:

“I love You, Lord

For Your mercy never fails me

All my days, I've been held in Your hands

From the moment that I wake up

Until I lay my head

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

And all my life You have been faithful

And all my life You have been so, so good

With every breath that I am able

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God” [3]

These words help me remember who God is and His faithfulness to me. God has been and always will be faithful and good. He is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8 + James 1:17, NIV). God has been so good to me all the days of my life. When I look back and see all of the things He has done for me and what He had brought me through, I know He will do it again in the future. He will for you as well.