The Goodness of God
There's something about a hospital room that changes everything. The world outside keeps spinning where we are rushing to meetings, scrolling through our phones, chasing the next thing on their endless to-do lists. But inside those four walls, time moves differently. The noise fades. The distractions disappear. And what remains is the steady, quiet reminder that some things matter more than we realized.
For many of us, it takes a crisis to slow down. A health scare. A loss. A season that doesn't unfold the way we planned. And in those moments, we're faced with a choice: Will we let the difficulty embitter us, or will we allow it to open our eyes to something we've been missing all along?
The Foundation of All Gratitude
As we approach Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, it's easy to get swept up in the whirlwind like the shopping lists, the family gatherings, the pressure to make everything perfect. But beneath all the activity lies an invitation to pause and remember something fundamental: God is good. Always.
Not just when life is easy. Not only when prayers are answered the way we hoped. But always. In every season, through every storm, in the waiting and the wondering.
Psalm 145:9 declares, "The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made." His goodness isn't selective or situational. It doesn't depend on our circumstances or our performance. It's simply who He is.
When we truly grasp this truth, everything changes. How we pray, how we see others, and how we respond when life doesn't go according to plan.
Glory Wrapped in Goodness
When Moses stood before God and made one of the boldest requests in Scripture. He said, "Show me Your glory." God's response reveals something profound about His nature. He didn't answer with thunder and lightning. He didn't display raw power or overwhelming might.
Instead, God said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass before you" (Exodus 33:19).
Think about that. Moses asked to see God's glory, and God revealed His goodness. The two are inseparable. God's glory isn't just about power. It's about His person. It's not merely what He can do; it's who He is at His core.
Every sunrise that breaks through darkness, every answered prayer whispered in weakness, every undeserved mercy that meets us in our mistakes—that's His glory shining through His goodness.
God's goodness isn't a mood. It's His nature. It doesn't shift with your emotions, your performance, or your situation. He's good when the prayer is answered, and He's good when you're still waiting. He's good in the celebration and in the silence.
Gratitude doesn't begin when life gets better. It begins when we realize God is good even if life hasn't changed yet.
The Unchanging Light
One of the enemy's oldest tricks is making us doubt God's goodness when life gets difficult. It's the same lie whispered in the garden: "Did God really say...?" It's the same doubt that creeps in when our plans crumble: "If God really loved you, wouldn't He have prevented this?"
James 1:17 offers a powerful antidote to this deception: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
In the ancient world, people looked to the stars, moon, and sun as symbols of consistency. Yet even those heavenly bodies shift and cast shadows. But God doesn't. He's not like the sun that rises and sets. His light never dims. His goodness never fades.
God's goodness isn't seasonal—it's steadfast.
Maybe you're in a waiting season right now. A place where you can't see what God is doing. Maybe you're rebuilding after loss, or perhaps you're standing in a season of rejoicing. Whatever your season, His goodness is the constant thread running through them all.
The presence of shadows doesn't mean the light has disappeared—it just means something's blocking your view. The sun hasn't moved; it's still shining. The Father of lights hasn't changed; He's still good.
The Pathway to Presence
Psalm 100:4-5 gives us a beautiful invitation: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Notice that thanksgiving isn't the reward for a good season. It's the pathway into the presence of a good God. Gratitude is the key that opens the door.
Gratitude is the evidence of a heart convinced of God's goodness.
Thanksgiving isn't something we offer only when life feels right. It's what we choose when we know that God is right. Gratitude says, "God, I trust You even when I can't trace You." It's declaring, "My praise isn't based on my situation; it's rooted in Your character."
This doesn't mean gratitude ignores pain. It doesn't pretend everything is fine when it's not. Rather, gratitude invites perspective. When you thank God in the middle of the storm, you're not denying the difficulty. You're proclaiming that He's still faithful.
Gratitude gives you spiritual sight and the ability to recognize God's fingerprints even in the places that hurt. It's saying, "Lord, I may not understand what You're doing, but I can still see that You're here."
Looking Back to Move Forward
When you trace God's hand through your history, you'll start to see what you couldn't in the moment: even when you didn't understand it, His goodness was holding you steady.
The doors He closed that protected you. The detours that led you somewhere better. The prayers that went unanswered because His plan was bigger. The hospital room where you learned that His presence matters more than His provision.
God's goodness isn't proven by one moment; it's revealed over a lifetime.
And maybe that's the reminder we all need as we enter this season of thanksgiving: You may not see how your story ends yet, but you can trust that the Author is good.
Becoming Grateful People
The clearer your view of His goodness, the quicker your response in praise. Gratitude isn't something we manufacture; it flows naturally from seeing God clearly.
When you see His goodness, gratitude becomes your reflex.
Gratitude turns every season into an opportunity for worship. It shifts your focus from what's missing to what's already been given. It transforms reflection into worship and memory into movement.
And perhaps most beautifully, gratitude changes not just what we give to God, but who we become. A grateful heart is a heart aligned with heaven and a heart that recognizes the goodness of God in every sunrise, every breath, every small mercy that marks our days.
As the psalmist reminds us, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6).
So in this season, and every season, may we choose to look for His goodness. Not just in the blessings, but in the waiting, the wondering, and even the ordinary moments we so easily overlook.
Because gratitude begins when we remember how good our God really is.
And that changes everything.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Jay
For many of us, it takes a crisis to slow down. A health scare. A loss. A season that doesn't unfold the way we planned. And in those moments, we're faced with a choice: Will we let the difficulty embitter us, or will we allow it to open our eyes to something we've been missing all along?
The Foundation of All Gratitude
As we approach Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, it's easy to get swept up in the whirlwind like the shopping lists, the family gatherings, the pressure to make everything perfect. But beneath all the activity lies an invitation to pause and remember something fundamental: God is good. Always.
Not just when life is easy. Not only when prayers are answered the way we hoped. But always. In every season, through every storm, in the waiting and the wondering.
Psalm 145:9 declares, "The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made." His goodness isn't selective or situational. It doesn't depend on our circumstances or our performance. It's simply who He is.
When we truly grasp this truth, everything changes. How we pray, how we see others, and how we respond when life doesn't go according to plan.
Glory Wrapped in Goodness
When Moses stood before God and made one of the boldest requests in Scripture. He said, "Show me Your glory." God's response reveals something profound about His nature. He didn't answer with thunder and lightning. He didn't display raw power or overwhelming might.
Instead, God said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass before you" (Exodus 33:19).
Think about that. Moses asked to see God's glory, and God revealed His goodness. The two are inseparable. God's glory isn't just about power. It's about His person. It's not merely what He can do; it's who He is at His core.
Every sunrise that breaks through darkness, every answered prayer whispered in weakness, every undeserved mercy that meets us in our mistakes—that's His glory shining through His goodness.
God's goodness isn't a mood. It's His nature. It doesn't shift with your emotions, your performance, or your situation. He's good when the prayer is answered, and He's good when you're still waiting. He's good in the celebration and in the silence.
Gratitude doesn't begin when life gets better. It begins when we realize God is good even if life hasn't changed yet.
The Unchanging Light
One of the enemy's oldest tricks is making us doubt God's goodness when life gets difficult. It's the same lie whispered in the garden: "Did God really say...?" It's the same doubt that creeps in when our plans crumble: "If God really loved you, wouldn't He have prevented this?"
James 1:17 offers a powerful antidote to this deception: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
In the ancient world, people looked to the stars, moon, and sun as symbols of consistency. Yet even those heavenly bodies shift and cast shadows. But God doesn't. He's not like the sun that rises and sets. His light never dims. His goodness never fades.
God's goodness isn't seasonal—it's steadfast.
Maybe you're in a waiting season right now. A place where you can't see what God is doing. Maybe you're rebuilding after loss, or perhaps you're standing in a season of rejoicing. Whatever your season, His goodness is the constant thread running through them all.
The presence of shadows doesn't mean the light has disappeared—it just means something's blocking your view. The sun hasn't moved; it's still shining. The Father of lights hasn't changed; He's still good.
The Pathway to Presence
Psalm 100:4-5 gives us a beautiful invitation: "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Notice that thanksgiving isn't the reward for a good season. It's the pathway into the presence of a good God. Gratitude is the key that opens the door.
Gratitude is the evidence of a heart convinced of God's goodness.
Thanksgiving isn't something we offer only when life feels right. It's what we choose when we know that God is right. Gratitude says, "God, I trust You even when I can't trace You." It's declaring, "My praise isn't based on my situation; it's rooted in Your character."
This doesn't mean gratitude ignores pain. It doesn't pretend everything is fine when it's not. Rather, gratitude invites perspective. When you thank God in the middle of the storm, you're not denying the difficulty. You're proclaiming that He's still faithful.
Gratitude gives you spiritual sight and the ability to recognize God's fingerprints even in the places that hurt. It's saying, "Lord, I may not understand what You're doing, but I can still see that You're here."
Looking Back to Move Forward
When you trace God's hand through your history, you'll start to see what you couldn't in the moment: even when you didn't understand it, His goodness was holding you steady.
The doors He closed that protected you. The detours that led you somewhere better. The prayers that went unanswered because His plan was bigger. The hospital room where you learned that His presence matters more than His provision.
God's goodness isn't proven by one moment; it's revealed over a lifetime.
And maybe that's the reminder we all need as we enter this season of thanksgiving: You may not see how your story ends yet, but you can trust that the Author is good.
Becoming Grateful People
The clearer your view of His goodness, the quicker your response in praise. Gratitude isn't something we manufacture; it flows naturally from seeing God clearly.
When you see His goodness, gratitude becomes your reflex.
Gratitude turns every season into an opportunity for worship. It shifts your focus from what's missing to what's already been given. It transforms reflection into worship and memory into movement.
And perhaps most beautifully, gratitude changes not just what we give to God, but who we become. A grateful heart is a heart aligned with heaven and a heart that recognizes the goodness of God in every sunrise, every breath, every small mercy that marks our days.
As the psalmist reminds us, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6).
So in this season, and every season, may we choose to look for His goodness. Not just in the blessings, but in the waiting, the wondering, and even the ordinary moments we so easily overlook.
Because gratitude begins when we remember how good our God really is.
And that changes everything.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor Jay
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