In recent days, I was reflecting on the goodness of God in my life. I felt I needed to declare the goodness of God in this time and season, as many people are feeling hard-pressed and feeling down, even sometimes for no apparent reason. In fact, I've been ministering to many such people recently. Now, this is something spiritual.
So, in a time like this, I want to declare in the spirit that the Lord is altogether good!
Yes, no doubt, I do have my share of challenging times in different seasons of my life too, but what I know is the Lord just knows how to deliver me and rescue me. All the time! Every time! In every season of my life! He is so real!
So, whatever your past may be, let it go to the Lord. Let the bygones be bygones. There is a fresh anointing being released upon you right now. You can have a fresh new start!
Give thanks to the Lord that whatever that's past, the Lord has forgiven you, and the Lord has fresh new things in store ahead of you!
This is your time to be set free from your past, whatever that past may be! And this is your time to begin walking in the realm of the fullness and the goodness of God!
To start off with, let's go to Psalm 23:6. Here, David wrote: 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'
You see, 'all the days'! Not 'some days'. Not 'a few days'. But 'all the days'!
The word 'goodness' here is 'towb' in Hebrew. It can mean 'good (in the widest sense), good things, bountiful, beautiful, favor, kindness, pleasantness, sweetness, gladness'. In short, all of the goodness of God!
Another beautiful psalm that David wrote is Psalm 34. Here, he wrote about tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. This word 'good' here is the same word 'towb'. Let's read Psalm 34:8 now. 'Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good ('towb'); Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!'
In other words, he was writing about experiencing the goodness of God in real ways!
Yet another beautiful psalm composed by David is Psalm 136. Here, he declared the goodness of God as first and foremost in his thanksgiving unto the Lord!
Let's look at Psalm 136:1-5 now. The word 'good' here is, again, the same word 'towb'. 'Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good ('towb')! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: To Him who alone does great wonders, for His mercy endures forever; To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, for His mercy endures forever.'
Notice in Psalm 136 here, David put 'the goodness of God' at the very top, and only then, he wrote about 'God of gods', 'Lord of lords', 'God who alone does great wonders', and 'God who by wisdom made the heavens'. You know what that means? David had this revelation that God is first and foremost good, and only then, He is the Lord of all things, the Lord of signs and wonders, and the Lord of wisdom. But first and foremost, God is good!
That's the revelation that David had, that God is good, in spite of whatever he may be facing at that time!
You see, the enemy will always try to downplay the goodness of God. And he will do whatever he can to stop you from seeing, and believing, and experiencing the goodness of God in your life. Why? Because he knows how powerful God's people can be when they have this revelation of the goodness of God, like David did!
The enemy certainly doesn't want to see many "Davids" in this world, i.e. those who not only have the revelation that they are God's beloved, but also the revelation that God is indeed good in their lives!
Yes, we must admit that David had his share of troubles and challenges in life as well. But, instead of wallowing in all these, he chose to trust in the goodness of God, as you can see from the psalms you've read just now. David went on to become arguably the greatest king ever lived in the history of Israel!
What are the good things in your life that you can give thanks for? Having a good family. Having good friends. Having good health. Having good career. Having financial freedom. Or there must be something good in your life that you can give thanks for at the moment. Surely, there must be something good in your life! Now, focus on those 'good'!
Don't get me wrong here. This is not about a 'feel-good message' that denies the reality. No! But what I'm saying here is, in spite of all those troubles around you, or all those bad news around you, you can still choose to see that the Lord is indeed good in your life! And let this goodness of God grow in your life, and in every aspect of your life!
Don't just look at the 'big things'. How about those smaller things in life that you can give thanks for? Give thanks for your home. Give thanks for your bed. Remember, there are many people in this world who don't even have a good bed to sleep on. In other words, they are homeless and sleeping on the streets. Give thanks for the food on your table. Remember, someone out there may not even have such.
There are so many things for you to give thanks for, if you really look around you. Ask the Lord to show you the many other good things in your life, no matter how small or insignificant you think these may be.
Begin to thank your way to more and more good things that are coming, instead of falling into the enemy's trap of blaming your way to more and more doom and gloom in your life. Begin to give thanks to God for the smaller things in your life, and bigger things will certainly come your way! Try it, and you'll be amazed how this works! Yes, David did! And you are next!
Let us pray:
"O Lord God, we thank You for Your fresh anointing for us right now. We thank You that You want us to look ahead and receive the many more good things that You want to give to us. We are now therefore set free from our past, and we begin to walk in the realm of the fullness and the goodness of God. We declare new and exciting times are ahead of us, in spite of all those bad news that we hear around us. Indeed, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. In the name of Jesus. Amen."
