The story is told of a missionary in the 1800’s who sacrificed and suffered greatly as he and his family served the Lord in Africa. Some of the natives ran him and his family out of their villages. His wife eventually died of a disease. He himself was physically sick and financially broke. One night he sat down on a big rock, looked up at the stars and penned the words, “I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God”. Some would classify that as sheer ignorance; however, those who have had similar experiences and have made similar responses know it is a deep, spiritual insight. Any spiritual wimp can praise God when everything is going jim-dandy and honkey-dory, but when bad times crash in on them, they lash out at God or deny His goodness and maybe even deny His existence. It’s not spiritual ignorance that sees the goodness of God in terrible times – it is spiritual insight and wisdom that is able to look beyond the physical circumstances into the spiritual realm where there are rich blessings beyond comprehension (Ephesians 1:3). Remember, Paul was writing from a prison when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord, always…” (Philippians 4:4). I would argue that Paul was out of his mind – out of his mind for Jesus as he looked and lived in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 2:6).
Read Psalm 34 and then listen to a beautiful song entitled “The Goodness of God.”
Psalm 34
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
He protects all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
The Lord redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.