God is a Good God!

             Evangelist Oral Roberts was famous for saying “God is a good God.” Roberts often told the story of how, as a young pastor in Enid, OK, he was reading the Bible one day and came across 3 John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (KJV). He jumped up and ran to tell his wife, “Look honey, according to this verse, God wants us to prosper and to be in health.” This verse became the foundational truth of his ministry. He began to preach the goodness of God in a time when many preachers were saying that God wanted people to live in poverty and sickness. Roberts' focus on God's goodness opened the door for people to believe for healing and prosperity. 

I also believe God is a good God. The Psalmist says, “You are good, and what you do is good…” (Psalm 119:68 NIV), “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NIV), “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:9 NIV). Believers are commanded to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8 NIV).

Everything God made in the beginning was good (Genesis 1:31). God wants to give good things to His followers. “No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Psalm 84:11). “Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…” (James 1:17 NIV). It is the goodness of God that brings men to repentance (Romans 2:4) and God works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).