Producing Good

January 15, 2021

I’m sitting at the kitchen table in my house where the average temperature has been unpleasant 60 degrees for the past four weeks. (Yep, no heat and no indication of getting it anytime soon.)  I’m still nursing a broken toe and my husband has been ill with the coronavirus for 15 days,  hospitalized since day 10.  He has suffered greatly from this wicked virus as it has run its course through his body.  Just when you think you have knocked it out and the fight it over, it somehow picks itself up and punches you in the gut again.  Our entire family has been under quarantine and we have closed our office due to multiple cases within the company.  Combine these things with all the strife going in our nation and it has been quite a load to bear.  

And yet in the midst of it all, I have found myself continually thinking about how incredibly GOOD God is.    

He is ALL GOOD and ONLY GOOD through and through, down to His very core and essence of His being.   In fact, He is so GOOD that his involvement in our lives at every level produces only GOOD.  He takes circumstances and situations that aren’t good at all, and applies His remarkable creative ability as the supreme Creator to produce GOOD  out of them.  He literally brings GOOD into existence.  He gives rise to GOOD.  He creates GOOD where none can be found.  You could say He is in the business of PRODUCING GOOD. 

This remarkable truth is one we desperately need to embrace right now, in this tumultuous new year 2021 fraught with strife, malice, deception, violence, persecution and uncertainty in our nation.  As we lie in bed at night longing for sleep to come and silence the voices bombarding us, we need to know that God is still PRODUCING GOOD.

He tells us this very clearly in Romans 8:28 (amp): 

“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.” 

Let that sink in for a moment.    

He causes all things to work together for good in our lives as part of His plan…. not only the blessings and happy times, but also the hard stuff, the ugly stuff, the stuff we wish would go away.  For those who love and acknowledge Him, He tenderly takes the pain, the suffering, the disappointment and the brokenness and miraculously weaves them together with His thread of goodness until the beautiful tapestry of our lives is formed.  Not easily perceptible to the natural eye, this thread of goodness can only be discerned with a soft heart that is pliable in His hands. But it is as real as the air we breathe.   

Because of His good nature, our God brings purpose and weaves GOOD through every circumstance in our lives.  Looking ahead to verse 29 we are able to understand more fully God’s intention as he takes us through this process:

“For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.”

 In other words, His purpose is to produce Godly character in us, to mold and shape us into the image of His Son.  As this occurs we increasingly share His heart, know his thoughts, and behave in a way that represents Him well.  Just a pearl is formed inside of an oyster because of an irritant, so the pearls of God’s goodness - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - are formed in us through difficulty.   Because He is so very GOOD, our suffering  becomes redemptive as we yield to Him and allow Him to produce fruitfulness, maturity and holiness in us.  Out of the trials he produces qualities that are extremely GOOD.

In the past couple of weeks I have definitely seen that God is GOOD.  He has given me  an abundance of supernatural grace, strength and energy to care for my husband.  I have remained healthy in spite of being exposed to the virus.  I am full of joy.  He has caused my heart to overflow with gratitude and cultivated in me a new level of appreciation for the healthcare workers who work selflessly and tirelessly to restore health to others. I have seen His hand of favor as my husband received a plasma treatment that was in limited supply.  I have seen God’s healing in a life-threatening situation and have experienced supernatural peace the entire time.  My heart has been deeply encouraged by prayers and kind words of faith-filled friends.  Expressed concern from an old friend has helped heal deep wounds.   I am immensely grateful for things I previously took for granted…. warm UGGs, cozy fleece, a cup of hot Earl Grey, a bowl of warm white chicken chili and a space heater that makes it tolerable.  

I can confidently say that all the time, and in every situation, God is indeed GOOD.