Till I have your goodness, I can never have your happiness

This is a quote of Miss Elizabeth Bennet from the movie Pride and Prejudice. There is a measure of truth in this statement, as we press into God the fruit of His Spirit matures in us. Goodness is ours absolutely; joy most definitely, but not always happiness, as this is contingent on outward circumstances and not our position in Christ. Goodness shapes our character; joy is an amazing fruit of living a God-filled life.

2 Chronicles 7:3(NASB)

And all the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord saying, Truly He is good, truly His loving kindness is everlasting.

The sons of Israel were moved to thanksgiving and praise because they witnessed a supernatural act of God. Seeing the fire burn up the sacrifice was a pretty amazing sight to see, I’m sure of it! But, I think the climax of the day would have been the Presence of God’s glory! All they could do is worship and praise their God who is completely and selflessly good to His creation.

God is completely good, like he is completely love, and completely holy. To experience the glory of the Lord is unbelievably wonderful. Once you have tasted of His sweet goodness truly nothing else compares! So, wonderful in fact that it consumed the Israelite’s in their humanity and pressed them to the ground. They became weak in the flesh under this incredible goodness being displayed. I have heard an easy explanation of God’s glory as being a measure of His goodness covering you or passing before you. I don’t think we can truly comprehend what this means. God’s glory can also be described as weighty. Perhaps this is why it’s hard to stand under the glory of God.

Everything God does is motivated from a position of goodness. When you experience goodness in any aspect of your life it is because God is in it. You give thanks when you experience His goodness. This in turn brings glory and honor to Him.

Simply put when we see the beauty of God’s Creation, or the birth of a baby, we cry out…Oh my goodness! When a depraved person, held in the captivity of sin, turns to Jesus, the One who brings freedom, we stand in awe of God. He is perfectly good and is so willing to share His glorious creation with us, His created.

Genesis 1:31 (NASB)

And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.