At one of our recent online prayer meetings, our partner in Mali, Pastor Amadou*, shared this wonderful reflection on God’s goodness with us.  

An abridged version features in the Spring 2024 edition of our supporter magazine, voice and you can enjoy the full devotion below.  

 

If you would like to join our online prayer meetings and pray with our partners, read more here  

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The goodness of God  

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV 

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1 

 
The celebration of Easter is an extraordinary opportunity to remember the infinite goodness of our God and the reasons to praise him in every moment of our lives. Yes, saying that God is good is certainly an obvious truth! 

The Bible mentions the goodness of God as an admirable quality of God. It manifests itself through His compassion, His generosity and His forgiveness towards ‘the just and on the unjust’ without distinction. (Matthew 5:45)

The goodness of God is present in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It is evident during the creation of the universe where each step is validated by the formula "God saw that it was good". (Genesis 1:4), (James 1:17) He created man in his image and likeness in his goodness (Genesis 1:26-27)  

God's goodness is manifested in redemption, where he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, in the place of sinners, in order to offer them forgiveness and eternal life (John 3:16).  (Romans 5:8) This is the greatest expression of the goodness of God.  

God also shows his goodness in providence by providing for our needs, protection, consolation, sanctification, and spiritual growth (Psalms 23), (Matthew 6:25-34), (Romans 8:28-39), (Philippians 4:19), (Hebrews 13:5-6, thus we are the daily happy recipients of undeserved blessings.

In Galatians 5:22 we see that goodness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. These fruit are all qualities that reflect the character of God, unlike the works of the flesh cited in Galatians 5:19-21 which characterize the carnal man. Goodness is therefore a spiritual quality which must also characterize the children of God.

The goodness of God is a source of praise and gratitude to the Lord our God. Psalm 107:1 proclaims, “Praise the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” This verse helps us to recognize God's goodness and faithfulness towards us, despite our weaknesses and sins. He encourages us to give thanks to him for all the help he gives us in difficult situations in life. He also reminds us that His love is everlasting and never gives up (as we also see in Hebrews 13:5).  

We must highlight the benefits of God in our personal, family, professional, spiritual lives – in all areas of our lives. We must express our gratitude to God through prayer, praise, testimony – in all the ways that we worship and glorify Him.

We must remember the times when God rescued us, healed us, restored us, strengthened us, comforted us, helped us and give him glory for his power and grace. (Psalms 103:2).  

We must trust in God for the future, because he is faithful to his promises and will never leave us or forsake us, as He promised Joshua (Joshua 1:45).  

We must ultimately share God's goodness and mercy with others, encouraging them to turn to Him and trust Him.

God's goodness is a source of praise, recognition, confidence and imitation for us. We must express our gratitude to Him for all that He does for us and for all that He is to us. We should trust him, because he is faithful and never abandons us. We must also resemble him, by being good to one another, as he taught us through his Son Jesus Christ, who is the perfect expression of his goodness. 

Amen 

 

Pastor Amadou* is the leader of Feba’s ministry partner in Mali. 

  

*Name changed for security reasons.