The Goodness of God

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3 Amplified Bible

Basic Christianity 101- God is love. (1 John 4:16) God is light and there is no darkness in Him (1 John 1:5). God is not the author of evil. He is good. Every good gift and every perfect ( free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light... (James 1:17 Amplified Bible). Good comes from God, not evil. Until you really understand that and get it down on the inside of you, you will blame God for every negative thing that comes along, and bitterness toward God won't do anything but keep you defeated. It's not His fault. He's waiting for you to turn to Him.

God isn't the One making life difficult for you. There is no darkness, no evil, no sickness, no poverty, no death in Him. God is good. Good things come from God, not bad. The tendency to blame God for the bad things that happen in life is very easy to fall into; it is a mindset that most people grow up with. But it is a mindset that is completely wrong, and a mindset that you can change when you see the Truth in the Word of God.

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. 12 Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. 13 Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity... Jeremiah 29:11-14 Amplified Bible

God has a plan, a good plan for your life. But you have to turn to Him. As they say, God is a gentleman, and won't force Himself on anyone. You have to invite Him into your life, then you have to spend time with Him every day and allow Him to guide you, for apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). People are really good at trying to run things for themselves, and people are consequently really good at messing things up. Poor choices account for a large part of the difficulties people face. Often, we have no one to blame but ourselves for the predicaments we find ourselves in.

Then there are those things that are outside our control that have a negative impact on our lives. Those things are the "storms of life" Jesus refers to in Matthew 7:24-29. Those that have their foundation on the Rock, who have anchored themselves in Jesus, will withstand the storms of life. God has promised protection many times over in His Word. Psalm 91 says He will protect us from dangers, plagues, disasters, terrors, etc., if we will dwell in His presence, in the secret place of the Most High. That just means spending time with Him every day. His love endures forever; He is waiting for you to turn to Him so He can take care of you and meet your needs.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: 22 The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. Lamentations 3:21-23 New Living Translation

Your mind may be having fits about now, arguing with what you're reading. You may be thinking, my life is in too big a mess, I can never get it straightened out, or I'm too old, or I'm not smart enough, or whatever. It's never too late, it's never so bad you can't turn things around. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, how old you are or what you've done. God is the God of the second chance. And third, and fourth... He is full of mercy and ready to forgive. His mercy is new every morning. Give God a chance. Turn back to God, and He'll fill you with His love. God is a good God.

If you have been struggling with the wrong image of God, I highly recommend downloading the teaching The True Nature of God by Andrew Wommack. In this series, he directly addresses this topic, and after listening to these you'll never see God the same way again. The link is below.

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]! Isaiah 30:18 Amplified Bible

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] John 14:27 Amplified Bible

What follows is a sample confession of the Word of God that you can use for yourself and personalize according to your specific circumstances. Personalizing verses makes the Word really speak to your heart and goes a long way toward building your faith in God. Never beg God for anything; use the Word in your prayer time instead. God honors faith, and the more you pray the Word, the more it will build your faith. The verses used are referenced at the end.

I thank You, Father, that Your Word will not return to You void, but it will accomplish what You please and it will prosper in my life, for You watch over Your Word to perform it. I thank You, Lord, for the covenant of blood I have with You by the blood of Your Son, Jesus. I receive that blood and the covenant promises of life, health and prosperity over my life today.

Jesus, You were made to be sin for me that I might be made the righteousness of God in You. I receive that life over me and my house today. As for me and my house, we serve the Lord. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I am saved and my house. The seed of the righteous shall be delivered. I thank You, Lord, that You are pouring Your Spirit upon my house and Your blessing upon my offspring. I thank You, Father, for salvation and the blessing that is working in my house today.

I thank You, Lord, for the healing You have provided my house by the covenant of blood. For You bare my sins in Your own body on the tree that I being dead to sin might live unto God, by whose stripes I am healed. You sent Your Word and healed me and delivered me from my destructions. I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. Your Word is life and health to all my flesh and I prosper and am in health even as my soul prospers. I receive the healing in my body that You died to give me. By Your stripes I am healed.

Now Father, I receive Your provision for my life today, for I know the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ that though You were rich, yet for my sake You became poor that I through Your poverty might be rich and abundantly supplied. You are making all grace come to my house in abundance that we may always, and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient- possessing enough to require no aid or support, and my house is furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation. I thank you Father for seed for the sowing and bread for the eating. I am enriched in all things and in every way. I seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness and all these things are added unto me. I thank You, Lord, for giving me power to get wealth that You can establish Your covenant in the earth through me today. The blessing is working in my house today.

Now Lord, I declare that I am not weak in faith when I consider my circumstances. No unbelief or distrust makes me waver or doubtingly question concerning Your promises for my life. I am growing strong and am empowered by faith as I give praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that You, Lord, are able and might to keep Your Word and do what You have promised in my life. I have the life of God. I live life in abundance, to the full, til it overflows. I overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of my testimony. I thank You, Lord, for the life, health and prosperity that You died to give me, so that the world will see Jesus in my life. I give You all the glory, in Jesus' Name, amen.

References- Is. 55;11; Jer. 1:12; 2 Cor. 5:21; Josh. 24:15; Acts 16:31; Prov. 11:21; Is. 44:3; 1 Pet. 2:24; Ps. 107:20; Ps. 118:17; Prov. 4:22; 3 Jn 2; 2 Cor. 8:9 Amp.; 2 Cor. 9:8-11 Amp.; Mt. 6:33; Deut. 8:18; Rom. 4:19-21; Jn. 10:10 Amp.; Rev. 21:11.

Ministries Online

For quintessential faith teachings, see Kenneth Copeland Ministries, one of the best to learn about faith. Check out "Real Help", a section on their website that has loads of online articles, etc, to give you help in lots of different areas, all free.

For loads of free downloadable teachings on faith, finances, healing, etc, etc, see Keith Moore Ministries. He has loads of very practical, every-day, down-to-earth teaching that's strictly in line with the Word of God to help you walk in victory as God intended.

For very practical, down-to-earth teaching that speaks to everyone in their day-to-day lives, see Joyce Meyer Ministries, a ministry that will give you insight into how to deal with the things we all confront every day.

Another website with great teaching available is Andrew Wommack Ministries; I highly recommend his teaching on The True Nature of God, a very good in-depth teaching on the goodness of God that will correct the traditional view of God as a cranky old man waiting to knock you over the head to teach you something.

Other Online Helps

A great Bible reference site with loads of translations and other helps is Biblegateway.com

A site that has a collection of faith-building resources is cfaith.com; I've just found this one and don't know what all is available there yet, beyond loads of free articles by quite a few different authors.

For communicating with other Christians, try Grace Centered Christian Forums.

For help with troubled marriages, check out Marriage Helper with Joe Beam and Lovepath International.