On a beautiful autumn afternoon, my husband left the office earlier than usual, picked up our youngest grandson from our daughter's house, then came by our house and picked me up. He thought that this sunny day, tucked in the middle of a rain filled week, was too good to waste being indoors. He took us to a nearby park where my grandson enjoyed playing on the playground and throwing rocks into the river. It was lovely.
If you looked at that one little snippet in my husband's life, you might label him good and kind. But when our two year old grandson proceeded to walk into the river, shoes and all, and my husband scolded him, perhaps if you had caught him only in that moment you might label him harsh or stern.
God is always good and always kind and does good. Unlike us fallible humans, there is not one iota of darkness or sin in God's character. In all that He does God's motives are pure and good. Yet, when God sets up boundaries or tells us "don't go there", like Adam and Eve, we too often assume that God is withholding something good from us. You and I can both understand that my husband scolded our grandson for his own good. The river was deep and swift and full from the recent rain and wasn't safe for him to be wading in. Why then can we not understand and trust that when God says "don't!" about something, it's not because He's some heavenly curmudgeon out to spoil our fun, but a good Father Who knows what is best for us.
Our view of God is often skewed by our life experiences. It's easier to view God as good and kind if our earthly father modeled that to us. If our father was harsh or cold and distant, our view of God can be skewed because of that filter. In order to help correct that, look up kind, kindness, lovingkindness, good and goodness in your concordance or online. Fill your mind with the truth about God's character and how He feels about you. When life is hard and harsh, you will need confidence in God's love and goodness to get you through. This simple truth that God is good and kind and does good has been an anchor for me when the enemy used my difficult circumstances to accuse God to me. That is one of satan's favorite tricks. satan loves to kick you when you're down and whisper vile lies that God isn't really good, that He doesn't really care, that He doesn't really love you. Armor up with the truth about God's character so those fiery arrows won't be able to penetrate. God is good and kind and does good. That's a truth you can stand on.
still following,
Enjoyed your whole message here, but especially the part of Armor up. We do need to put on the Armor of God daily because of outside influences and the lies and tricks of Satan that can slyly come into our lives. Your reference to good father immediately made the song Good Good Father come into mind. Love that song. Happy Sunday.
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I love that song!
DeleteLove your post! I was recently talking to my bible studies girls about this. If we had the experience of a loving and kind earthy father, we find it a little easier to see God that way. Thank you for reminding us that no matter our experience with our earthly father, our Heavenly Father is always good.
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