Day 7

God’s goodness is taught and implied in every book of the Bible.

The prophet Jeremiah writes, *“This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile’”* (Jeremiah 29:10-14).

Talk about a promise. Talk about God’s goodness.

Paul was right: *“When God is for you, no one can be against you”* (Romans 8:31), because there is nothing greater or more powerful than God. This is not a promise of the absence of opposition. Rather, it is a promise regarding the impotence of the opposition. God will vanquish any enemies that present themselves before believers.

I read about a classroom at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Missouri. It was the day for final exams. Denise Banderman walked into the classroom minutes before the professor arrived. Everybody in the room was doing last-minute cramming, as you could imagine. Then the professor entered and took a few minutes to review. Most of it was familiar, but there were some things that no one remembered, let alone, ever hearing. The professor then stated, “This is in your textbook, and you are responsible for the contents of it on this exam,” sending chills up every student’s spine.

The time came for the test. He gave the word and every student took up their pen and turned over their test. Listen to the response in Denise Banderman’s own words. “I could not believe it. To my astonishment, every answer on the test was filled in. My name, too, was even written on the exam in red ink.”

A wordless stir traveled like a wave over the class as each student looked at their completed exam. On the bottom of the last page of every test was a note from the professor himself – “All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A.”

I love this story because it is the story of God’s Word, of God’s grace, God’s Bible story. Over and over, truth after truth, you can read of the revelation of God’s goodness. So good that He would send His only Son, Jesus, to take the test on our behalf ( John 3:16). Paul tells us that there is nothing we can do to earn it, but only receive it (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I can tell you this, life is good when you understand that God is good. *“How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You”* (Psalm 31:19).

**QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION**

1. Write down a time when you experienced God’s goodness.

2. How long ago was the experience that you wrote?

3. God is good all the time. What do you need to do to recognize God’s goodness today?

*Lord, help me to be reminded of how good You are today, and to worship You for it all throughout my day. Amen.*