Dwell in God's Goodness
April 30, 2024
When it comes to the goodness of God, the Bible is packed full, cover to cover, with the good things about who God is and what He has done. For example, God’s love for us is so amazing that it cannot be fully measured (Ephesians 3:18). In addition to that, we can trust Him to give us what is best for us (Luke 11:11–13). Finally, as a result of being adopted into His family (Matthew 12:48–50), we have been given a distinct purpose and a mission (Matthew 28:18–20).
While all these things are incredibly good, the greatest gift is His presence in our lives. After the Israelites built a golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32), God tells Moses to leave and take the Israelites to the land He had promised to Abraham a few generations prior. In light of the most recent events with the Israelites and the calf, however, God tells Moses, “But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way” (Exodus 33:3, NIV). Moses quickly realized this would not be good. So, he desperately begged God to reconsider. Why? Because he knew that whatever it was that they would face in the promised land, they couldn’t do it without the presence of God.
David, the author of our spiritual theme verse for the year, comes to a similar place in his life in which he realizes there is only one thing his heart longs for: to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4).
When it comes to God’s presence in our lives, those who know Him join Moses, David, and countless others down through history who have come to realize there is nothing in this life that compares to the presence of God living inside and around us, guiding, leading, and directing us.
A hymn I remember singing as a child reminds me of how important it is to choose Jesus daily:
In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus,
You may have all this world,
Give me Jesus.1
As we wrap up our study of Psalm 27, our goal in the final month of this school year is to help our students see the goodness that comes with God’s presence. We want each student to see that we can dwell in the presence of God by allowing His presence to dwell in us. This process begins when we confess our sin and follow His commands. When we do that, His spirit can live and dwell within us.
We also want our students to see that having God’s presence living in us doesn’t guarantee a life free from challenges. This concept is demonstrated in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As the character Lucy is in the process of getting acquainted with Aslan, she asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is safe, to which Mr. Beaver replies:
“Safe? ... who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”2
If we are patient, we will come to see the goodness of God that can come only with His presence in our lives (Psalm 27:14).
My hope and prayer is that we will all experience the goodness of God because of His presence in our lives as we conclude our 2023-2024 study journey together.
Notes:
1. See Thomas L. Baynham, Jr. and C. Michael Hawn’s History of Hymns, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-give-me-jesus.
2. C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: Book 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005), p.146.