Live Juicy – A 10 Week Study of the Fruit of the Spirit – Week Seven – Goodness

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty – and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works – and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:5-7

Goodness vs. kindness, what is the difference? Last week we looked at the kindness of God and how He nurtures us and shows compassion. This week, as we look at the goodness of God, we will discover how His goodness encompasses all of His creation, His Kingdom, and how He treats others.

In Psalm 145, we hear David praise God for His goodness. In the first three verses of this Psalm, David use three names for the One he praises: God, King, and Lord. This is just a taste of the majesty of our God. We praise a God whose greatness is more significant than anyone could ever fathom.

The Rule Book

I don’t always like to start with the rule book or directions. When I buy a new product, such as a grill or a desk, I usually begin to assemble it without opening the directions. But the goodness of my new shiny object is often dulled when I sit with a pile of parts and attempt to put it together without following the instructions given to me for my benefit. The goodness of the Lord is experienced best when we have opened up the directions, the Word of God, and read it, learned from it, understood it, and allowed our lives to be directed by it.

We experience God’s goodness when we take the time to meditate on His works, His creation, and His Word. How can we ever fully know and understand the wonderful works of the Lord? In Psalm 119:27, we hear the whispers of a prayer asking to understand the laws of the Lord, so that, we can begin to meditate on all the wonderful deeds of the Lord and celebrate His abundant goodness.

To know the goodness of God, we must meditate upon His wonderful works. Before we can meditate upon His great works, we must first know and understand His directions. Obedience to God’s laws is the only way for us to see how good He truly is to us.

5 Things to Pray for to Understand God’s Directions

1. For the Lord to teach you His decrees, so we can follow them until the end. (Psalm 119:33)
2. To have understanding so that we can keep and obey His law with all our hearts. (Psalm 119:34)
3. For God to direct our paths in the way of His commands, so we find delight. (Psalm 119:35)
4. For our hearts and eyes to be turned to godly things, and not to seek selfish gain. (Psalm 119:36-37)
5. For God to preserve our lives according to His Word. (Psalm 119:37)

What does the goodness of the Lord look like?

The goodness of God is blended into everything He has ever done or created. All creation recognized God’s goodness; it is the narrative of life. His goodness fills His Kingdom. In the song Goodness of God, by Bethel (link below), the lyrics say, “Your goodness is running after me.” I am going to show you in the list below how the goodness of God has been running after YOU! I will be using The Passion Translation of Psalm 145 (click here to read it) to refer to Scriptures telling of God’s goodness.

Verse 8 – You’re kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and very patient with people who fail you.

Verse 13 – You are faithful to fulfill every promise you’ve made.

Verse 14 – You sustain the weak and feeble. Those bent over with burdens of shame you lift up.

Verse 15 – You give us what we hunger for at just the right time.

Verse 16 – You satisfy the longings of every living thing.

Verse 17 – You are fair and righteous in everything you do.

Verve 18 – You draw near to those who call out to you.

Verse 19 – You give us more than what we ask for. You bring us saving strength.

Verse 20 – You watch carefully over all.

Did your heart feel the thrill of the chase? Did you recognize a million ways God’s goodness has been chasing after you your whole life? I certainly did!

The vision of a God who chases us with His goodness is powerful and unforgettable. As I meditate on these verses, on the goodness of God, this knowledge quiets and humbles me.

How can we respond to this? What are some of the ways we can celebrate and praise God for His goodness?

Pass it on to the Next Generation

There are many ways to praise God for His goodness, but one of the most powerful ways is to pass along to the next generation, a heritage of faith, which lays testimony to God’s goodness.

I am so blessed to have a heritage of faith. My parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, and probably every generation before, has passed on to me the joy of the Lord.

The living, the living – they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness. Isaiah 38:19

Hezekiah speaks of the joy that comes from one generation passing along a heritage of faith to the next. You may be a first-generation Christian, and if you are, praise the Lord a new heritage has begun! Or perhaps, like me, you have the generations before you to thank for such a blessing of seeing faith lived out loud and with joy.

Generation after generation will declare more of your greatness and declare more of your glory. Psalm 145:4 (TPT)

What can we do to bear testimony to the next generation of the goodness of God? How will you be sure to pass on your faith?

Heavenly Father, your goodness is chasing me down, and I am giddy with your attention. Thank you for giving us the directions for pursuing a life spent being chased by your goodness! I praise your majestic name. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What’s next?

So far, we have learned of six of the nine fruits given to us by the Holy Spirit. The first three—love, joy, and peace—are inward fruit that comes from God. The next three—patience, kindness, and goodness—were inward fruit that comes from our relationships with others. The following three fruits—faith, gentleness, and self-control—are general traits in a Christian’s life.

I look forward to finishing strong as we continue to live juicy by the fruit of the Spirit.

Next week we learn about the relationship between faith and faithfulness. I look forward to seeing you then!