It’s All Good: Way Better Than You Think

Far from being a milque-toast, insipid, uninspired descriptive word, when you're talking about my God, "good" is better than you think.

We've all heard the phrases:

Good enough for government work.

Good, better, best!  We’ll put ‘em to the test!

The word ‘good’ has got to be one of the most under-appreciated words of all time.  Sometimes, in the evening, my husband will ask me how my day was at school, and I’ll reply, “Alright.”

Chris:   Just alright?

Me:      Yeah…it was good, I guess.

That ringing sound you just may have heard is the tilting of 100 on the Ambivalence Meter.  Not sure I could find a way to be any more non-committal.

But that’s what we’ve been trained to say.  Ask my boy, Wyatt, the same question:

Me:      How was school today, bud?

Wyatt: Good.

Me:      Just ‘good’?

Wyatt: Yep.  It was good.

Never mind that there was a fight on the playground over a soccer ball, or that he was in the middle of an argument with a girl he said was getting on his nerves.  That’s all irrelevant, I’m sure.  It was good.

I’ve been a professional music educator for almost 30 years.  (Yes, that makes me ancient, I know.  When did that happen?)  During a portion of my career, I was a secondary school choral director, and each year, we went to “Choral Festival.”  That’s what we called it then.  When I was in high school, they transitioned from calling it a ‘contest’ to a ‘festival’—and then later, they changed it again to ‘music performance assessment’ to ring bells with administrators who wanted to know what educational value there was.  ‘Contest’ was too competitive,  and I guess ‘festival’ sounded like we were all re-enactors at a cheesy Renaissance Fair.  Music Performance Assessment gave it more legitimacy.  Of course, the structure is nearly identical to what I participated in way back in my high school days in the early 80’s—but I digress.  We are the generation of rebranding, after all.

At that music festivus-for-the-rest-of-us, each choir, ensemble or soloist would have their time in front of a panel of judges.  They rated us on a 5-point rubric, and we anxiously awaited seeing our scores.  From highest to lowest, they were:

·      Superior

·      Excellent

·      Good

·      Fair

·      Poor

Life as you knew it was OVER if you scored anything under excellent, and really, superiors were, in our minds, the only acceptable rating.  Good?  You might as well go to bed for the rest of the school year, and don’t come out until August.

When did ‘good’ become synonymous with ‘paltry’?  Or ‘meh’? Or ‘phoning it in’?

Friends, that is NOT how God sees the word ‘good’—not by a longshot.  His definition is very different.

Genesis 1:3-5 NKJV

³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Did you catch that?  God opens His mouth, says ‘let there be’, and out of absolutely NOTHING, He creates SOMETHING—Light!  Let’s just think about that for a moment:  prior to this moment, there is nothing but darkness.  Verse 2 says “darkness was on the face of the deep.”  I could go into a philosophical observation about how the enemy was there, on the face of all of the earth’s potential, but God’s spirit was also there, hovering on the face of the waters, and just one verse later, He speaks, and BAM!  There’s light! And in the next verse, He divides the light from the darkness.

Light always brings separation.  And according to God, that is GOOD.

Light brings illumination, and understanding.  Light changes everything.  Light comes BEFORE anything else is created, because you have to have LIGHT to be able to SEE what needs to happen to bring creation and correction, and communion.

And it is GOOD.

God said, at the end of each day of the Creation Week, “It is good.”  He didn’t have to turn cartwheels, and use a bunch of silly, over-the-top superlatives.  Those three words said everything that needed saying.  They might not be enough for us, but they are plenty descriptive for Him.

Do a keyword search in any bible app, and look up the word ‘good’, or even ‘God is good’.  You’ll see how prevalent the word good is, but you’ll also be reminded of key stories that will challenge your current definition.

Moses told Israel, “Be strong and of good courage.”  Maybe I’m crazy, but I think ‘good courage’ was intended to represent something better-than-average.  They were going to be facing all kinds of enemies, and taking possession of the Promised Land.  I can’t imagine Joshua or Caleb saying, “Okay, guys…do the best you can.  If you need a time-out, go to the designated safe space until you’re ready to cope.   It’s okay to need reassurance from one of our counselors.  Take your time.”

Nope.  Can’t even imagine that.  I think “Man up!” was probably more accurate.  Look at what God told Joshua after Moses died:

Joshua 1:5-9 NKJV

⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

“Good” isn’t sounding so paltry now.

I could go on and on, making a case for the real meaning of ‘good.’  But I think the real definition of ‘good’ should come from its original source—the goodness of God, Himself.

Hosea 3:4-5 NKJV

⁴ For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. ⁵ Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

When you return from rebellion, and hypocrisy, and deception, you realize that your real need in this life is the goodness and mercy of God.  That’s real revival.  You see your need for Him.

Romans 2:1-4 NKJV

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Some would criticize God for showing any judgment at all.  But c’mon folks—it’s His world, His creation, His house.  House rules.  He could’ve kept us all enslaved like puppets, but He made us free moral agents, with choices.  It’s up to us to decide how we choose to play.

But it’s not up to us to make the rules.  The good news is that His goodness leads us to repent, to get right.  He’s patient.  He’s longsuffering.  He’s kind.

But He’s no chump.  He’s not a pushover, or a wimp.  It’s His house, His rules.

I’m so thankful that, far from being a crooked, unprincipled master, He is, by very definition, good. 

Strongs Concordance

Good—Hebrew word טוֹב (towb)

Meaning, among other things:

Pleasant, agreeable, excellent, rich, valuable in estimation, appropriate, becoming, better, happy, prosperous, kind, right, and ethical

Of course, the best good things He’s ever done for me, that prove His ultimate goodness, would be His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, His resurrection, and His return on the day of Pentecost.  He told us He wouldn’t leave us comfortless—and He delivered.

He’s good, alright.  There’s nothing better than His brand of goodness.  It’s way more than adequate, or barely sufficient.  His goodness is all we will ever need.

It was His goodness that made eternity with Him possible. 

Psalm 107:1-2 KJV

1O give thanks unto the LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

Let the redeemed say what? That HE is GOOD, and that His mercy endures forever.

I’d say good wins the day, after all.