“Do you know why you take care of me?” My wide-eyed 4-year-old gazed into my husband’s eyes.
“Why?” He asked.
“Because you’re a good daddy,” she said with confidence.
Hmm, I thought. Many times I’ve credited the action for the attribute. You’re a good daddy because you take care of us, rather than you take care of us because you’re a good daddy. Yet, here my daughter understood that good actions come from good character rather than accepting that good actions create good character.
There’s something holy here about understanding the character of God. He takes care of us becauseHe’s a good God. His goodness doesn’t depend on His actions, rather His action are because He is good.
Confident trust is necessary for understanding the character of God. If I loose my job, trust. If I battle sickness, trust. If my plans fall apart, trust. If I’m walking through grief, trust. If I’m facing an unknown, trust.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT)
When tribulation, temptation, and trials come, I want to be confident in knowing that God is still good. My circumstances don’t change that. His character is constant, not circumstantial. He is good.
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.(Psalm 100:5 NKJV)
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
(Psalm 145:8-9 NKJV)
His mercy is everlasting because He is good.
His truth endures because He is good.
He is gracious and full of compassion because He is good.
He is slow to anger and great in mercy because He is good.
Am I a good mom?I ask myself. There are many nights, I reflect on the actions of the day and think about how I could’ve done better. I wasn’t patient enough, or perhaps I wasn’t slow to anger. I put my worth in my actions rather than in my character. “I’m not a good mom,” I tell myself. My daughter is quick to remind me that I am a good mom. She sees that correction is a product of goodness, “because you love us,” she tells me.
It takes spiritual maturity and an eternal mindset to truly believe these things.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
God is good, so expect good things.
This doesn’t mean that nothing bad will happen. Rather it’s the confident trust that in the fulfillment of His promises (which might not happen in my lifetime), it will be good.
I chuckle to myself when I think about the words of Jonah in Jonah chapter 4. He says, “I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:2b NIV) But, Jonah doesn’t say this with a heart of worship or thanksgiving. He’s mad that God relented from punishment on, who Jonah believes are not deserving of God’s love.
I see the frustration in my 8-year-olds eyes when I have mercy on his brother when his brother comes to me with an attitude of repentance. As a good mother, I love to relent. I love to restore blessings and take away punishments. I want my children to experience my goodness. But, what happens when my children don’t apologize or don’t change their attitudes? Correction.
When I read verses from Deuteronomy 1, I feel the parental pain of correction.
“There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lordyour God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” (Deut. 1:31b-36, NIV)
It makes it almost impossible to see God’s goodness when I choose not to trust Him. And, it was probably really difficult for the Israelites to feel and see God’s goodness in His correction.
But, does correcting His children make Him a bad God? Does correcting my children make me a bad mom? To a child who doesn’t trust, yes, I become a bad mom. To the children who trust me and know that I love them, I’m still a good mom. And, He is still a good God.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
(Psalm 34:8 NKJV)
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