Everything God does for you and through you, he does because he is a good God. It’s based on God’s character, not yours.

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14 NASB).

God has only good plans for your life. He does not have bad plans for you—he never has and he never will. Yet a lot of people miss God’s plan for their lives because they don’t trust God. Instead, they decide to follow their own plan, and in the end, that leads to hopelessness and pessimism.

The more you understand God’s goodness, the more hopeful you’re going to be because hope is anticipating God’s goodness. The only reason you have hope is because God is good. If God is not a good God, there is no rational reason for hope. 

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I’d see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14 NASB).

Everything God does for you, through you, to you, and in you, he does because he is a good God. God’s goodness in your life isn’t based on how good you are. It’s based on God’s character, not yours.

Everybody needs God’s goodness. Everybody wants God’s goodness. But we have to understand and believe it to experience it. In his goodness, he blesses us with sustenance and balance, resilience and guidance, confidence and assurance, influence and abundance, benevolence and inheritance. He makes it all available to his children because of his grace and his good character.

Talk It Over

Why is it freeing to acknowledge that God’s goodness is based on his character and not yours?

What can you do while you are waiting on God to deliver you from a difficult season? How can you gain courage as you trust God during these times?

How can you learn about and understand God’s goodness more?

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This devotional © 2019 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.