The Goodness of God: In Matthew, Mark & Luke
I always knew my calling was to be a wife and a mother. That dream’s first half became reality when my husband and I married. Many tears were shed, and prayers were spoken about our request to become parents. However, I didn’t know I would have to wait ten years into our marriage before I could fulfill the role of mother.
In the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there is a story about a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. Can you imagine? The Bible doesn’t say, but did she also have other symptoms along with the bleeding?
The Goodness of God: In the Prophets
There are mornings when I open my Bible out of obedience and routine. I know I need to be in it—and deep down, I want to be in it—but like the words of Ezekiel, my bones are dry.
It happened today.
I had something I knew I needed to deal with, but my want-to just wasn’t up-to it. I considered King David’s repentant words in Psalm 51 (a frequent flier in my own battle with sin) but found myself in Ezekiel 37 instead. Can I just tell you how much I love those first 14 verses?
The Goodness of God: In the psalms
Something I've struggled with since becoming a believer is seeing God's goodness. I find it funny that The Behold Collective is in a series about God's goodness but it's the most blurred in my life. I've texted my mentors about 30 times since moving about how hard college is and how exhausted I am. God knows exactly what he's doing. Through studying for this blog, I have read scriptures that give me deja vu. I have felt these emotions before; I have cried out to God in these ways before, but my good, good God has also always answered in these ways before. I challenge you to view the Psalms the same way. How can this reflect your life and your lament?
The Goodness of God: Deuteronomy
The Goodness of God in Deuteronomy
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9
We often forget the good things we’ve experienced from the hand of God. Even though I’ve seen God help me in tough times, provide what I need, and guide me through uncertainty, I still struggle to hold onto those experiences when life gets challenging. We know God is always with us, but when things get rough, it’s easy to feel scared, question what He’s doing in our lives, or even stray from what we know to be true. That’s why the Bible encourages us to keep these truths in our hearts, share them with our kids, and even write them where we can see them daily. We need those reminders.
The Goodness of God: The book of Numbers
Praying for the salvation of others is probably one of the most noble prayers any disciple of Jesus could pray. But often, we pray, and pray, and pray, and we don't see any movement towards God for those we lift in prayer.
My husband, Michael, and I have been praying for our children's salvation since birth. God blessed us with three marvelous and unforgettable sons but never a biological daughter. In the naming of our sons, Michael and I could never agree on what their names were. Still, we immediately landed on our daughter's name before our firstborn was even born: Alice Elizabeth. After having 3 sons in synchrony, I was told that we could no longer have any more biological children. I was okay with that, as the pregnancy was complicated for me, but saddened at the thought of never having a daughter with my high left cheek dimple.
The Goodness of God: Leviticus
I am that crazy person that loves the book of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus, often seen as a detailed manual of laws and rituals, holds hidden gems that invite us into a deeper relationship with God. One such gem is the word “Behold” (Hebrew: hinneh, Strong’s H2009). While this word might seem small or inconsequential in our English translations, in the original Hebrew, it carries significant weight—a divine call to stop, pay attention, and fully engage in what God is about to reveal.
The Goodness of God in Exodus
“Sometimes the providence of God is best seen looking backward.”
I heard these words several months back while listening to a sermon series by Life Church pastor Craig Groeschel on one of my daily walks. When I heard this message and these particular words, I was currently in the midst of a difficult and confusing space, and the message of hope I heard through this message spoke poignantly to my place of discouragement. While I didn’t find myself, like the Israelites, in a foreign country oppressed by slavery and facing potential annihilation, I was in a painful situation, uncertain how God might bring me through. These words by Craig were like a balm to my heart. I was reminded that although sometimes, during our hard times, it can be challenging to see, God is always GOOD and always working FOR our good. He has shown himself faithful through countless experiences throughout my life, just as He showed up for those we read about in scripture. Even when we can’t see it, that doesn’t mean God isn’t good or is not working behind the scenes. Instead, He walks with us in the pain, in the hard, and dwells with us until we can look back and see what He knew all along. And this is the story of the Israelites in the book of Exodus.
The Goodness of God: In Genesis
While some will look at the events in the Book of Genesis as displays of God’s judgment, I only see His goodness. I’m not blind to the curses in the Garden, the hailstones that reigned on Sodom and Gomorrah, or the men who left their brother for dead; I just don’t see those things as coming from a harsh, judgmental God.
I see goodness.
Let me explain.
The Goodness of God: In the Beginning (Genesis 1-3)
Most of us have had those moments. Where something drastic happened, that changed the course of our expected life. If it hasn’t happened yet, someday it will. It could be the birth of a baby with unforeseen health problems, a traumatic car accident, the unexpected death of a family member, or the end of a once hope-filled marriage. Unfortunately, we live in a world that has fallen well below its potential.
For myself, I was a happy-go-lucky kid born and raised in a small town (>950) surrounded by the cornfields of Nebraska, who had a life ahead of her that looked a lot like those who surrounded me: graduate high school, get a bachelor’s degree, come back and settle down with a husband to raise a family, spending time in church all week. But that’s not exactly how it worked out. Right before my 6th grade year, I was in a car with my maternal grandmother when we were hit by an intoxicated driver. My Grandma was killed instantly; he was paralyzed from the neck down, and the way I looked at the world was forever changed.
I wrestled with whether God was and is good in those early moments. Would a good God allow a child to be traumatized? Would a good God take a woman of valor from this earth right as she began to disciple her granddaughter?