As our guest blog by Debra on the Fruit of the Spirit continues, I hope you have been engaging with this challenge to experience God more deeply
Our word for today is Goodness. Some definitions: moral excellence; virtue; kindly feeling; kindness; generosity; excellence of quality; the best part of anything; essence; strength. Some synonyms: integrity, honesty, uprightness, benevolence. Antonyms: badness, evil.
I have to say that I am a little overwhelmed at the expectation of living a life of goodness (along with all the other Fruit of the Spirit, for that matter). Sometimes I feel like I am living up to these standards, but sometimes not so much. God’s Word reminds me over and over of my need for the Holy Spirit to dwell in me and give me the power to attain what I cannot on my own. His help is there for the asking. Thank you God for the Holy Spirit!
The first song that popped in my head when I started this email was the song, “God is So Good.” The words are “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me.” And then you can add other verses about Him answering prayer, and loving us so, and whatever else you can think of. Simple enough to teach preschoolers, but reassuring to all. Everything about Him is good.
There are so many Bible verses on the word “good”. Here are a sampling of them.
The psalmists repeat how good God is.
I love these assurances of the goodness of God. They show me His love, protection, favor, forgiveness and faithfulness.
Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”
Psalm 86:5 “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.”
Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
I found many verses on having to choose to do good. It is very intentional.
Psalm 34:14 “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Psalm 37:3-4 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
I found a few with warnings.
I feel like the days we are living in are exactly what this first verse is talking about – good is seen as evil and evil is seen as good. Christ will be returning soon and will judge everything according to His holiness. Be cautious of the influences in our lives. Make sure we are living a life doing exactly what God has asked us to.
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
I Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character.”
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
I also found some verses with promises and blessings when we choose to do good.
Psalm 112:5 “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.”
Proverbs 14:22 “Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.”
I found these verses for wives.
Do our husbands feel like they have been shown favor from the Lord by marrying us? Are we being noble and bringing good to them? If you are not sure, you might ask him and see how he answers.
Proverbs 18:22 “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” {I totally agree 🙂 }
Proverbs 31:10-12 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”
I found these verses that remind us that God created us to be like Him – to do good things and to live a life of goodness.
Galatians 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
1 Timothy 6:18 “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
This final verse reveals the fruit that is on our trees.
What kind of fruit can others see? Is God living inside us? Have we invited Him to be our Lord and Savior? Have we given every area of our lives to Him? Are we full of His goodness?
Matthew 12:35 “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”