GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD

God is Always Good 

by Susan Barnes

"No one is good - except God alone." Luke 18:19

God is good. It’s a simple but important truth because the devil will try to get us to doubt the goodness of God. Oswald Chambers comments, "The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good."

The devil's temptations run along the lines that if God is good, he would not allow my family to get sick. If God is good, he would not allow my friend to have a crisis. If God is good, he would not keep things from me. 

It seems logical to us, but we fail to see the larger purposes of God. To combat these lies, we need to establish in our minds, that God is good and acts in our long-term, best interests. 

God’s purpose is to shape and form our character to make us more like Jesus. When things are going well, we want to be more like Jesus, and it’s easy to believe God is good. 

But when we experience difficulties, we begin to doubt. We see it in God’s people through the ages. Jacob had a defining moment of faith when he wrestled with God and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). Shortly afterward he was worried the Canaanites would destroy him because Simeon and Levi had provoked them (Genesis 34:30). 

Regardless of the actions of others, God is working for our good, but Jacob, and many of us, tend to forget this during trials.

God is good, and his motives are pure. We can trust his goodness.

Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews, and inspirational articles. Contact