Daily Devotion With Pastor Dan – September 28th, 2020
Today I was thinking just how good God is. That is something we here alot, right? That God is good. And I know we say that in passing sometime without really thinking much about it. This morning I am going to say it too, “God is good!” But can I show you why? The Scriptures tell us in Nahum just how good.
(Nahum 1:3-8)…..3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. 5 The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it. 6 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him. 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, and darkness will pursue His enemies.
Here we see that God is powerful in His being yet He is slow to anger. He is compassionate, He is full of mercy, He is full of grace, towards those who are His. For this, we ought to thank Him today, praise His wonderful name as you go through this day. We must not forget that because He is just, He will someday judge the wicked, not acquitting them from their transgressions (Romans 9:22-24). The LORD will have His way in the judgment of man. In the whirlwind and the storm, these are terms often used to describe the Lord’s coming to man (Job 38:1-3) (Psalm 50:1-3) (Isaiah 66:14-16) (Proverbs 10:25). So it will be swift!
Again, He is a very powerful God. He alone is the Sovereign Creator of all that you see and don’t see (Colossians 1:16-17). When we look at the clouds we see wonderous works of beauty in the sky, but to God, they are the dust of His feet. He alone rebukes the sea and makes it dry (Exodus 14:15-25), as this passage tells us. Bashan, which was rich in pasture land and full of oak trees (Isaiah 2:13-14) (Micah 7:13-14), Carmel which was rich in gardens and vineyards, Lebanon which was rich vineyard’s, fragrant flowers, cedar trees, cypress trees (Hosea 14:7) (Song of Solomon 4:11), as great and wondrous in beauty these are, they would wilt at His presence in judgment. Who can endure such a God? (Jeremiah 10:6-10) (Revelation 6:17).
God’s message to Assyria (Nineveh the capital) is that as powerful a nation as they were, they could not stand against the judgment of God, nor can sinful man today. Just consider His power to destroy.
(Matthew 10:28)….“ And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Now consider His power to deliver. God who is just in His judgment of sin, is also compassionate to those who have faith (trust) in Him. The LORD is good! Christian, God has been good to you! Do you believe that? Even if He judges man for his sin, and giving them the punishment of death for their sin, is He still good? Even if He destroys nations (men, women, children, etc.) for their rejection of Him, is He still good? Yes! The LORD is good all the time! It is His character to be good (1 Chronicles 16:34) (Psalm 25:6-10) (Psalm 100:4-5) (Psalm 145:8-9).
How good has God been towards those who believe in Him? Read: (Psalm 31:19) (Psalm 86:1-5) (Romans 2:1-4). He alone has made salvation possible for us (Titus 3:3-7). He is a stronghold in the day of trouble. God will be a protector of those who are His!
In Nahum’s time, it was important for Judah to hear this because they had been victim to the brutality of Assyria. They needed to know that in the Lord they had security and could not be moved if they took refuge in Him (Psalm 37:39-40) (Psalm 46).
“…He knoweth them that trust in Him.” God’s knowledge of us is intimate (Psalm 139:1-12). He probably knows us better than we know ourselves, as a matter of fact, I’m sure of it. But can you say you know Him? Do you know Him as your Savior, as your Lord, as your redeemer? Do you know Him intimately? Does He know you intimately? That’s the greater issue.
(Matthew 7:21-23)….“Not everyone that says ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them ‘Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”
For the one that truly belongs to Christ, there is great news (2 Timothy 2:19). Listen, there must be a relationship between you and the Lord Himself. This is what is so good about the LORD, that He, although powerful and mighty to judge, wants to know you, and you to know Him so that you can reap an eternity of His goodness.