What is good?

We all know what is good but what is good to God? I’m not sure that I can answer this question fully at this time. I don’t know enough to feel confidently that I have the full truth. I do have a better idea of what it means than I did a year ago and I want to share.

I think most people would define good simply as health, wealth, and status. All these thing can be good but what happens when you don’t have these things. Maybe these good things have been stripped from you.

Did God take away these blessings from you because He is angry with you? Maybe but maybe not.

It’s simplistic to think that having health, wealth, and status is the only ways that God can bless you. I know that God has our ultimate good in mind for those that love Him. He has the long term in mind not just the short term in mind.

There are lessons that we can only learn by going through life. Life is messy. There aren’t always easy answers. What makes God’s definition of good so different from us is how personally He views goodness. For God everyone’s good life looks different. I think we understand this on one hand but not on the other. We don’t apply this as fully as God does. He has crafted a life for each of us and it may not be as different from the one we are living now as we might hope.

“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” -1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)

Good to God is you being healed from past hurts.

Good to God is you being able to be all He intended you to be. Whether others understand it or not.

Good to God is you having the ability to hear His voice.

Great to God is you loving Him no matter what situations you find yourself in.

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”-Romans 8:11

God cares more for your spiritual well being than your earthly comfort. He cares that you believe and trust Him. That you are able to hold onto His peace.I wonder if sometimes when I am praying for peace if God isn’t just waiting for me to accept what He has already given me. If I could just accept that my life will never be perfect. If I could stop walking into a room and only seeing what’s wrong with it. Yes, see the problems but also have enough hope that they could be solved one day.

If I could hold onto my faith that God is in control. Then I wouldn’t worry so much. As much as we want to believe that we are in control, we aren’t. So much of our lives depend on things outside of us.

And if I could love people half as much as He loves me than I know I could make a real difference.

God cares about your decisions because He cares about the internal process. He cares about how you treat others because He cares about how you see yourself and others. It’s so much more about the internal than the external.

I hope that this will help us to all keep our heads up during this difficult time. Remember that God is with you and for you.

Autumn