A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day – May 8, 2019
In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” (Isaiah 25:9, NLT)
When we think about the last days we usually think about wars and rumors of wars and tribulation. But, have we missed one of the greatest signs? Consider the following:
Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days. (Hosea 3:5, Amplified Bible)
The Hebrew word used for “goodness” in Hosea 3:5 is “towb” which is defined as good in the widest sense; gladness; joy; cheer; go well with. That reminds me of another verse in Psalm 16:11 that says, Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it (Jeremiah 33:9).
In Bill Johnson’s book “God is Good” he writes the following regarding these two end-time promises:
(Here are two startling promises given by God (Hosea 3:5 and Jeremiah 33:9). I don’t remember ever hearing a preacher who specialized in the last days talking about these passages, nor even the subjects they address. The promise is clear — God’s goodness will be seen upon His people. Consider this: It just might be that the most overlooked evangelistic tool of the Church is the blessing of the Lord upon our lives. We’ve seen blessings abused, materialistic kingdoms built in His name, and other self-centered expressions. But when we react to the errors of others, we are prone to create another error.
The Bible says that others will see His goodness and will in turn fear the Lord. I wonder, how good does that goodness have to be for people to see it and actually tremble? It’s hard to imagine His goodness in a casual or incidental manner bringing about that response. It would have to be so clear, and in my opinion so extreme, so as to be obviously
manifested from God Himself, that people tremble with fear.
Put on your seat belts! We’re about to enter the journey of a lifetime. It’s a time where opposition increases, the need for our help becomes more obvious, and the blessing of God separates us from others. Knowing how to steward such things is paramount to our fulfilling His heart to disciple nations).
In one of our previous devotionals I mentioned how awesome and undefinable I felt the goodness of God was. I still feel that way but I am still trying. Romans 2:4 tells us that it is the “goodness” of God that leads men to repentance. Do you get that? People can be saved by having a revelation of God’s goodness. Personally, I think Bill Johnson is right when he says that he thinks we are possibly missing one of the greatest evangelistic tools ever by ignoring the goodness of God.
We serve a God that is intrinsically good! That means He is good to the core! That means every fiber of His being is good! That means He is good all the time!!! If we can ever grab hold of that truth I believe we will see the goodness of God manifest more and more in our personal lives and in the lives of the people we influence.
