What Makes God So Good?

“God is so good!” I exclaimed.

My family had experienced a miraculous answer to an outpouring of prayers and these words effortlessly surged from my soul.

But what if the situation went the other way, I suddenly wondered? What if God didn’t answer in alignment with my definition of good? Would I so passionately declare his goodness?

Oh, I pray so. That, however, requires an understanding of God’s goodness which runs far deeper than positive outcomes and favorable circumstances.

Of course, God deserves adoration and praise for his goodness and grace in fruitful seasons when our hearts bubble with gladness, but God is not more-good when things go “right” and less-good when things go “wrong.”

For a proper perspective of God’s goodness, we must turn to his Word. There we see God is good because of:

• • Who He Is
  • What He’s Done
  • What He’s Promised

Who He Is

God’s very nature is good.

In Exodus 33:18, Moses asked to see God’s glory.

Notice God’s response:

“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’” (Exodus 33:19a ESV)

Commentator David Guzik explains that “God’s glory lies in His goodness. When Moses saw the glory of God, His first understanding was that God was good. If we don’t know that God is good, we don’t know much about Him at all. God didn’t reveal His justice to Moses, not His power, and not His wrath against sin. All those are truly aspects of God’s nature, but when He showed Himself to Moses He displayed His goodness. Sometimes people think they must “balance” God, supposing there is something like a Yin and Yang to the universe, in the sense of light and dark, good and evil, law and grace. But God Himself is “unbalanced” in this sense. He is entirely good. Even His justice and power and wrath must be understood as aspects of His goodness.”¹

What He’s Done

Because God is good, perfect, and holy, He cannot tolerate sin. To do so would taint his goodness. Therefore, for us to know and come close to God, our sin had to be dealt with.

Enter Jesus.

God sent his beloved Son to this sin-ridden planet to endure the wrath and death our sins deserve and to give us peace and life with God through faith in Jesus.

When in doubt whether God is good, we just need to look back at the cross and what He has already done for us. He has solved our two greatest problems: sin and death.

We must expand beyond a “what have you done for me lately?” mentality with God and remain mindful of the ultimate expression of his goodness displayed thousands of years ago on a cross and in an empty tomb.

What He’s Promised

Because God’s nature is the essence of good, his Word follows suit.

To equip us to live in between the cross and future glory, He has filled Scripture with “precious and very great promises.” (2 Peter 1:4)

When we feel alone, He’s promised He is with us to the very end of the age through the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16-18, Matthew 28:20)

When we feel unloved, He’s promised that no one, no place, no circumstance, no spiritual force, nor anything else in all creation can ever separate us from his love. (Romans 8:38-39)

When we experience pain and suffering, we have a friend who knows the deep agony of suffering well. Just as Jesus’ suffering was not wasted, neither is ours. Through it, He builds our endurance, character, and hope, and one day we will share in his post-suffering glory. (Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:17, James 1:2-4, 12)

When we walk through valleys of loss and grief, He’s promised to remain with us, to comfort us, and to shepherd us as we put one foot in front of the other. (Psalm 23:4)

When things feel hopeless, He’s promised that a day is coming when Jesus Christ will return and make all things right. (Revelation 21-22)

We can take his promises to the bank. He’s good for them.

Yes, in both the good and the not-so-good circumstances, we can confidently proclaim God is good because of who He is, what He’s done, and what He’s promised.

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¹Guzik, David. Study Guide for Exodus 33. Blue Letter Bible. Blueletterbible.org, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/exodus/exodus-33.cfm?a=83019. Accessed 3 Mar. 2023.