Day 15: God Is Good, He Does Good

Scripture
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8 ESV


“You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” Psalm 119:68 ESV

Confessional Summary
The Reformed confessions do not treat God’s goodness as one attribute among many. They treat it as a fundamental confession about who He is. The Belgic Confession calls God “good” and “the overflowing fountain of all good” (Belgic Confession, Article 1). Heidelberg brings that goodness into daily life through providence, teaching that God’s fatherly care upholds and governs all things, so believers learn patience in adversity, gratitude in prosperity, and a settled confidence for what lies ahead (Heidelberg Catechism 27–28).

The confessions are training you to interpret life through God’s character, not to interpret God’s character through life.

Reflection
The serpent’s oldest strategy is not to deny God outright, but to make you suspect God’s goodness. Once that suspicion takes hold, obedience feels like slavery. God’s commands start to look like threats. Holiness starts to look like God is withholding good. You begin to believe that real life is always found somewhere outside God’s will.

Scripture answers that lie with an invitation and a confession. Psalm 34 does not say, “Analyze and conclude.” It says, “Taste and see.” God’s goodness is not merely a theological concept. God’s goodness is not merely a theological concept. You experience it as you take Him at His word and run to Him as your refuge.

Psalm 119 goes further and ties God’s goodness directly to God’s instruction. “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” That is a bold connection. It means God’s commands are not the opposite of His kindness. They are one of the main ways His kindness reaches you. God does good, and one of the ways He does good is by teaching you the path of life.

God’s goodness does not mean life will feel easy. It means God is faithful and kind even when He leads you through hard places. His goodness is not measured by how quickly He removes pain, but by the fact that He remains a refuge in pain, and a wise Father who never gives His children poison and calls it bread.

Application
Choose one command of God you have resisted because you feared losing something. Obey it today as an act of trust in God’s goodness. Then ask the Lord to show you one concrete way that obedience is not loss, but good.

Prayer

Good Father, heal my suspicion and quiet my bargaining. Teach me Your statutes as a gift, not a burden, and make me glad to follow where You lead. Amen.