One of my favourite songs is Goodness Of God by Jenn Johnson. It’s a passionate anthem that causes our hearts to reflect in wonder at those moments that feel like heaven has touched earth and the King of heaven has turned his face toward us mere mortals.
“And all my life You have been faithful
Goodness Of God by Jenn Johnson
And 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.”
What story comes to mind when you think of the goodness of God in your life?
For the Hebrew people of God, it was their mighty deliverance from 430 years of slavery in Egypt. It’s a story they still tell their little ones. In the days leading up to their stunning liberation, God caused ten plagues to ravage the land and confound Pharaoh and his magicians.
In Exodus 10, God gives Moses three reasons for the plagues and why he made the hearts of Pharaoh and his servants hard and stubborn, causing them to refuse to let his people go.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them – and so you will know that I am the Lord”
Exodus 10:1-2
- To display his miraculous signs among Pharaoh and his servants.
- In order that Moses would have a story of God’s faithfulness and power to share with his children and his grandchildren.
- That Moses might know the awesome power of God for himself.
Egypt was teeming with false gods and magic, so Pharaoh’s magicians were initially able to match many of the signs and wonders displayed through Moses and Aaron, but God’s power was always proven far superior. When Aaron threw his staff to the ground, it transformed into a snake and when Pharaoh’s magicians did the same, Aaron’s staff swallowed up all their staffs (Exodus 7:10-13).
The story of the people of Israel and their stunning deliverance from slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land, is the story of the fickleness of humanity and of our need for a saviour. We may judge how quickly they forgot the goodness of God who delivered them from the hand of oppression, but we too forget his kindness.
God wants us to remember his goodness by sharing our stories.
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death”
Revelation 12:11
Satan would love you to stay stuck in the wilderness of disappointment and wallow in the muck of the things you got wrong, but God wants you to remember his goodness as you choose to live from a position of freedom in Christ.
God’s heart towards you remains the same as it was for Moses. That you would know for yourself that God is Lord of all, that through your life, those around you would recognise God’s superior might and that generations after you would carry the story of the goodness of a powerful, yet gracious and kind God.
© 2022 by Ruth O’Reilly-Smith
