Titus 2 Men And Women

God Is Good - ALWAYS!!!
By Sharon Merhalski

God is good--Always! I say this phrase almost every time that I talk to people or write a note to someone...even an e-mail. I like to remind others to think of the Lord's goodness...and also remind myself. Last week while praying about preparing a lesson for my Bible study group, God laid this often touted phrase on my heart. I prayed and began a tremendous adventure. For the next few days I will share that Bible study with you.
God is good! So often we say it, but do we really mean it?

Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

The word taste means to perceive. So God is telling us to taste/perceive (Webster's Dictionary--to take in mentally; to become aware through the senses) that the LORD, Jehovah, is good.
After writing this down, I sat for a long time and wondered how many times I had failed to taste/perceive that God is good? I sat and wondered how many times in my life that others could not read my epistle/life and know that God is good? Oh, they probably heard it from my mouth,but could others always see it was true by my spirit?

--What does it mean to be good? I believe it means the living up to the best and highest that one knows.
--Do we believe God to be a good God--Always? Even in trials of heartaches, illness, or grief over the lost of a loved one?
--Do we in all things act like, live like, and believe with all of our heart, soul, and mind that God is good-always?

Let's go to the book of Psalms--chapter 34:1-9
Psa 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psa 34:2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
Psa 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Psa 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psa 34:5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
Psa 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psa 34:7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psa 34:9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

In verse 3 we find the word "magnify."
Curious as to the entire meaning of this word I looked in the Strong's Concordance and found that it means promote; praise; make powerful; do great things. I sat and pondered those meanings for several minutes.
I knew that magnify meant praise but I had to think about the rest of the meanings. I thought about my promoting and making powerful the name of God....and about my doing great things. At first, it sounded a tad boastful to put on myself to do great things for God. It then dawned on me that is the prayer of Jabez--when he asked God to enlarge his coasts. It also dawned on me that if the desire of my heart is truly to be used of God, then I should be praying for God to show Himself as powerful and great in the things He entrusts and enables me to do...and His things "All Things" will be great things.

In verse 5 God uses the word "lightened" and this word in the Strong's Concordance means shined; beamed. Can you almost always tell if a person is a Christian? How? To me some people seem to radiate light. That is what this verse is saying...if we look to Him we will be lightened...we will beam with God's glory because we have trusted God as being good.

In Psalm 42, God teaches us about our "cast." If we put our cast downward--if we look down and in we will be sad and run the risk of sliding into depression. If we look up to God, we will be joyful and have hope. Can people see a beam...a light when they meet us? Are we looking away/up to Jesus? Or are we looking down/in in self-absorption which actually leaves a grey 'veil' over our eyes and our faces...no light, no beam.

In verse 6, God uses the word "saved." This word means salvation; rescued; delivered; avenged; liberated; victorious--to give victory to. Link those meanings to the troubles God saves us from: He not only saves us to salvation but He rescues, delivers, avenges, liberates, and gives us victory OUT OF ALL OUR TROUBLES. After reading this and understanding the definitions of the word "saved," I realized that this verse leaves no room for fretting, running in circles, screaming, shouting...or doubting God. This verse should cause me to live with "godly contentment" so others can see that God is good--Always!

When I read verse 8, I got a tad sickened as I remembered the times when, in some circumstances and/or moment, I actually thought the words "God" and "Bad" together. After reading again all of the above verses....I regretfully remembered many times when I went through a trial or heartache and lived in such a way-and thought and spoke words that conveyed to others the words "God" and "Bad" in the same breath.

Now, let's look at David's dilemma in Psalm 77:1-9

Psa 77:1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
Psa 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
Psa 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
Psa 77:4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Psa 77:5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Psa 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart and my spirit made diligent search.
Psa 77:7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
Psa 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
Psa 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

In verse 7 David asks if the Lord will cast off forever? Can God cast us off? It cannot happen because God's name is Jehovah-Raah--the LORD MY SHEPHERD--always seeking His sheep to be their total care giver. The Good Shepherd never casts off a lost sheep; rather, He seeks and seeks that lost sheep until He finds it; even though we may 'feel' that God has cast us off--forgotten us or doesn't care to find us. Because the LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want--I shall not lack the expert care and management of my Master.

In verse 2, David said his "sore ran in the night." God stopped me there to consider the word "sore." I thought, sore is a wound, cut, abrasion. I reached for my Strong's Concordance, found the meaning of the word sore....and had to stop and consider much in my life. The word sore means strength; power.

This passage of scripture took on a whole new meaning for me as I prepared this lesson. David refused to let his soul be comforted so his strength oozed out of him all night....all through his valley of depression...his night. Verse 3 tells us of his misery: he was troubled, he complained, and his spirit was overwhelmed within him. Why? Because HE REFUSED to let God heal his heart. It was David's choice, for God is ALWAYS waiting and willing to heal us from ALL that troubles us. Yesterday we read and understood that He not only saves us to salvation but He rescues, delivers, avenges, liberates, and gives us victory OUT OF ALL OUR TROUBLES. It is, however, our choice, as it was David's choice, whether we allow God to do so or not.

In verse 9, David asks a question that I am afraid all of us have thought at one time or another: Psa 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. We are human with finite minds/limited minds, and we are prone to let doubt control us when we are hurting or when we have stepped one half of a step away from God and are not Spirit-led.

David said that he refused to be comforted; so his strength and power oozed out of him all night. In the New Testament, Jesus asks us a question, "Wilt thou be healed?" If you are weak today of body, mind, soul, or spirit, I pray you will consider your part in living in the goodness of God. It is a choice for us...just like it was for David.

God is good--He is perfect and cannot sin. God is always good to us because He loves us with a perfect and everlasting love. However, we are prone to doubt because we are human.

Now let's look at the remedy for our conscious, or unconscious, proclamation that the words "God" and "bad" sometimes go together.
Psalm 77: 10-14
Psa 77:10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
Psa 77:11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
Psa 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
Psa 77:14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

What is the remedy?
REMEMBER (vs. 10-11) "the works of the LORD..."
MEDITATE (vs.12) "also of all thy work,"
TALK (vs.12) "of thy doings."

The Psalmist repeated over and over the phrase, "For the LORD is Good." And God, through the Psalmist, asks us to join him--"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Do we remember the landmarks in our lives--those times when our God did great and mighty things for us? And do we talk of His doings? Or do we live complaining about life and our lot in it--by our words or our actions?

I believe America is apathetic because this generation, and the previous two or three, stopped remembering and proclaiming the goodness of God and His salvation. Consequently, America has almost lost all thought of God. When I was in high school in the mid-sixties, almost everyone that I knew went to church somewhere. America had a God-consciousness. However, I believe that too many Christians lost their saltiness...and salt makes people thirsty for the God we have stopped enthusiastically talking about. Are people thirsty for the God we are supposed to be remembering and proclaiming as being good?

We are not only to talk about the works of the Lord but the Bible says we are also to be "boasting" Christians!
Psa 34:2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
Psa 44:8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.

In the Strong's Concordance the word boast means: praise, glory, celebrate, to shine, to flash forth light....As I sat and thought about these definitions, I better understood how we are to be salty Christians. People around us would be thirsty from our saltiness if we were truly praising God, giving God the glory due Him, celebrating the Lord, shining with His love, and flashing forth the light (Jesus is the light) every time we had the slightest opening to do so...flashing forth that light as second nature in every circumstance of life. And God gives us a reason for doing so:

Psa 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
Psa 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
Psa 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
Psa 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
Psa 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

God is telling us that we are supposed to boast in Him that this generation and future generations might be redeemed--might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation. I had to stop and ask myself, "am I doing this?" Is my amount of boasting of my God and Saviour going to make any difference in the people around me? Are there going to be less stubborn and rebellious people whose spirits are not steadfast with God because of my boasting? Is my boasting coming from a yielded and clean heart? Are the people who are reading my life and listening to my words seeing and hearing about a Good God Who does wonderful works? Or does my mind need to be renewed--my thinking re-ordered so that I can praise my God and prove Him to others?

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are supposed to renew our minds with the Word of God so that we can proclaim that God is good.
Psa 34:2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

With our mouths we are to say that "God is good!"
With our lives we are to say that "God is good!"

Now let's take a look and see from the Word of God just how our thoughts, attitudes, and actions affect how others see, or don't see in us, that God is Good.

Psa 34:12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

I had to sit and think awhile here. I am what is labeled chronically ill. I have some tough days to contend with. I had to ask myself, "do others see me as always desiring life and loving my days?" For me, I rarely take notice of how I feel, and I rarely let my 'condition' stop me from doing what needs to be done. I don't talk about going to Heaven to get out of this physical dilemma...so I think others do see me as desiring life and loving my days. (My friends and family actually think I am a tad 'off ' because I love to meet each dawning of a new day watching it happen....asking God to prepare me for all He has for me to do.)

And this verse ends with, "that he may see good?"

I believe God is saying that our attitude about our life and our days let us see the goodness of God.

Easton's Bible Dictionary defines God's goodness as: "a perfection of his character which he exercises towards his creatures according to their various circumstances and relations (Ps. 145:8, 9; 103:8; 1 John 4:8). Viewed generally, it is benevolence;... goodness is incomprehensible by the finite mind.

Repentance in the Strong's Concordance means repentance to salvation, AND repentance that keeps us in fellowship with our Good God. God provided repentance for me to be able to keep short accounts with Him of my sin and be in fellowship with Him...allowing me to boast of His goodness and wondrous works. The above verse says that some people actually despise the riches of these provisions...which would definitely cause others to see that our God was NOT good.

Forbearance in the Strong's Concordance means tolerance, patience, self-restraint. I sat and thought back many years and became exceedingly glad for the forbearance of my God...for the times when He was tolerant, patient, and exercised self-restraint on my behalf. That alone is enough for me to boast that God is good!

Psa 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

In the verses before verse 13, David asks God to hear and answer him when he cried (vs.7). In verse 8, he asks God not to hide His face neither forsake him. In verse 11, he asks God to teach him His ways. Why? Because he wanted to see the goodness of the LORD (Jehovah) in the land of the living. Do we want to do likewise bad enough to ask God to be ever near to us...and live so that He can be? Is seeing and proclaiming the goodness of God that important to us? And why should it be so important? So that we can tell, boast, live, think in such a way that the world around us can see and hear:

Psa 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Psa 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Psa 145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
Psa 145:11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
Psa 145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Psa 145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
Psa 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

Are our hearts bowed down in adoration for all His mighty acts and glorious majesty of His kingdom? Are we humbled over the assurance of our home in Heaven with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever?

Is God enough to sustain us and provide us with His strength so that we can live proclaiming with everything that we do, think, and say, that God is good?---regardless of the condition He has chosen for us to live in? Is Romans 8:28 still true today? Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God is good!!!...God is working ALL things together for our good...whether we feel like He is or not. So let us, God's redeemed children, purpose to remember and meditate on the landmarks in our lives; purpose to tell and boast of His wondrous works; live desiring life with thanksgiving for each new day...with the knowledge that God has given us the same Holy Spirit that He gave to Jesus, His son, and the same strength ..so that our lives can always proclaim GOD IS GOOD--ALWAYS!!!

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