Are you familiar with this saying?
“God is good all the time.”
“All the time, God is good.”
It’s easy to say, and it’s always true.
However, Satan is constantly seeking to undermine our faith in God’s goodness.
Satan wants us to lean on our own understanding, just like Eve did in the garden.
Remember: God only wanted us, His children, to experience good.
In order to discern good from evil, one would have to experience evil.
God’s intention was for us to leave that to Him and simply to trust in His love and goodness.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve made a choice to trust in themselves instead of God, and mankind has been experiencing the effects of evil ever since.
When we come in contact with evil, the enemy is right there to blame God for it and to undermine our confidence in His goodness.
Satan wants us to live like it’s up to us to decide what’s good for us.
This mindset is the essence of ‘selfishness.’
Self does not care how it’s choices impact others. It just wants what is wants.
Self awareness opens the door for the Deceiver and the lusts of the flesh.
An easy example is food.
How many of us have asked ourselves the question: “What would taste good?”
What would happen if you let your kids pick the menu for the family?
You’d be eating ice cream, cookies and chocolate for every meal.
At best, they’d pick chicken nuggets, fries and mac and cheese.
We don’t ask, “what would be a healthy choice?”
Why? Because lust has trained us to look to food for pleasure regardless of its healthfulness.
So, how do we break free from self and its lusts and learn to allow the Spirit to lead us into what is truly ‘good’ for us?
Like any other relationship, trust in God grows from personally experiencing His consistent love and acceptance.
It takes time in God’s Word, sitting under sound Bible teaching, and communing with God in prayer to strengthen our faith in God’s goodness.
Satan wants us to look at God’s character through the lens of our circumstances.
If we are happy and life is going well, then God is good. (LIE)
If we are facing illness or hardness, then God hates us and cannot be trusted. (LIE)
Both previous statements are lies because the truth is:
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME REGARDLESS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES!
Joseph is the perfect example.
After suffering many wrongs unjustly, God raised him up to being second only to Pharaoh.
When he was reunited with his brothers, he realized that what they meant for evil, God meant for good.
Joseph could not see that while he was in jail, but he understood it later when the famine came.
Beloved, we need to know God intimately.
Then, we will be empowered by faith to trust Him with all of our hearts instead of leaning on our own understanding; and as we acknowledge Him, He promises to make our way straight.
He will show us what is GOOD all the time.
Blessings!
Robyn
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