The Goodness of God

Dear Faith Family,

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” (John 20:29). 

Hair matted to one side, his not so gently used clothing conspicuously labeled him as different. His odor was masked by the cigarette gripped between his lips. His eyes were untamed, and his conversation was with the unseen. 

We greeted him on the streets of Black Mountain. But I’m not sure he could receive our kindness. Not sure he even wanted to. My heart hurt. 

No worries. We were just hours from a conference in the mountains of North Carolina. Pastors and wives would soon gather from twenty-four different states and Canada. 

We drove through the gates into the serene setting of a flock of turkeys, two deer, and a couple of chipmunks. We enjoyed a dinner fit for royalty. As we entered the conference room, we found our softly cushioned seats and rested in the climate-controlled atmosphere. 

It was only a matter of minutes before we were on our feet praising our God together.  Listen to the words: 

I love You, Lord 

Oh, Your mercy never failed me 

And all my days, I've been held in Your hands 

From the moment that I wake up 

Until I lay my head 

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God 

All my life You have been faithful 

All my life You have been so, so good 

With every breath that I am able 

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God 

(Benjamin David Fielding, Jason David Ingram, Edmond Martin Cash, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson) 

Here’s my dilemma. I don’t know how to reconcile what I inhaled on the streets of Black Mountain with the fresh mountain air that reverberated the goodness of God. 

Oh, I could speculate how God might use that homeless man to soften my heart. Or how He might choose to radically heal and transform that man into a disciple of Jesus. Truth of the matter, I don’t know what God is doing right there on the streets of Black Mountain. I couldn’t fix it! 

In the end, truth is the anchor that holds us fast. And the truth is? God is good. He is faithful. Read Psalm 100. We don’t have to understand what God is doing for Him to be good.  And we don’t have to understand what He is doing for us to know that He is good.  His Word is enough.  

Blessed to believe,

Pastor Karl