I love to cook, and I happen to be vegan. Just as with any food there are awesome vegan dishes and barely edible ones.

I was talking to a new friend who learned I was vegan and said, “Oh, I had a vegan cookie once and it was awful.” I had to chuckle, because, yes, I have had bad vegan cookies too. It happens. I love to experiment in the kitchen, with a large variety of results. A couple days ago I made a flourless cake using sweet potato, coconut, and ground nuts, I was surprised how well it turned out! It was good! I could have easily missed out had I not been so bold with putting ingredients together in a new way.

When we set “good” to equal something very specific, our expectations can limit us from experiencing other good things.

When my husband and I first got together, he was convinced he didn’t like lentils because he hated the lentil soup his mom would make. Lo and behold, he loves the spicy lentil dishes I am drawn to preparing, and he shortly realized that it was not the lentils themselves he didn’t like, but the particular lentil dish.

Sometimes we have to adjust our expectations, learn to be flexible, and exercise our creativity because life always comes with unexpected twists. If I let my expectations for my life limit or define my joy, I could miss out on what God has planned for me in a season of unanticipated experiences. The feeling of missing out on a particular form of “goodness” would come due to the mistake of looking for something else—from expecting goodness, or healing, or friendships, or opportunities, to come in a particular way.

For example, I have experienced healing miracles where God has done an instant miraculous work, and others where He has given me a physical strategy (like changing my diet) in order to lead to healing. I have also been walking through a season of chronic autoimmune issues, knowing full well that He is the healer, but finally feeling the flexibility and security of finding goodness in His person rather than needing or expecting it in my immediate circumstances. It took me awhile to recognize that my expectations for healing were hindering me from fully enjoying the presence of God, which is in itself more valuable than any physical experience—even of healing. I have been finding freedom by focusing first on God’s goodness—finding joy in worshipping Him, rather than in my experiences (in myself).

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mat. 6:33).

God is good. But God is also the ultimate Creator. His ways are not always our ways. He puts things together in an unusually creative fashion. But in His wisdom He knows what He is doing. We can trust that eventually everything is working together to become something GOOD.

If I were Job, and I lost my family, home, and animals I would not think that eventually receiving more would replace what was lost. No no child can replace a deceased child. No household pet can replace a lost pet. And—while I am not the sentimental type—there is value in the memories that places, people, and possessions can spark in our lives.

I was pondering this when I realized I was not properly recalling the setting of Job’s story. Job seems to be as close to “cave man” as the Bible exposes. It appears he was living with dinosaurs and fire-breathing dragons (Job 40-41); and so maybe losing family members and other beloved possessions was not so uncommon. When things are common, they might still be terrible, but the expectation is different; our responses are different.

Perhaps Job’s story is not so much about the loss of irreplaceables as it is about 1) every bad thing happening at once (i.e. way more than he can handle without the Spirit), and 2) the common expectation that good things happen to godly people, and that God is working everything out for His good—specifically in bringing retribution and carrying out judgement. (Theologians call this last thing the Retribution Principle: it’s the biblical version of “karma” except that it only really works from an eternal perspective.)

It would certainly have been difficult—even beyond difficult—for Job to endure so much. But I think his deepest grief came from the failure of his expectations in God. He heard God, and dialoged with God—God is ever-present with him. Yet God delays in intervening. And God allowed it all to happen. There had been a “hedge of protection” around Job (an angelic protection? a spiritual ‘bubble’? a season of blessing?) and God took it away (Job 1:10).

Job learns to trust God and let God set the expectations for his life. He cannot hold onto both his own expectation for his life to turn around and his full dependence on God at the same time (even though he was correct in believing that God wanted to bless him and that he did not deserve his circumstances). Sometimes we have to release God to heal our circumstances by accepting them, and worshiping God anyway. I am doing this in a couple areas of my own life. My husband calls it, “realistic optimism”: accepting that if things do not change it will be okay, while continuing to have hope and flexibility in actively anticipating God’s promises coming to pass—whatever the timing, and however it looks.

And that part about Job enduring way more than he could handle? Maybe God wanted Job to recognize that alone he could not handle much, but through the Holy Spirit he could pass through it all, so that nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). He who can endure all things allows us to endure all things through Him—love is the key to this (1 Cor. 13:7: “love endures all things”). When Job is full of God’s love, he prays for his friends, and they too are redeemed. We, too, can choose to embrace God’s love in the anticipation that He knows what He is doing, and He will see us through. It is a joy through the release of our own expectations.

In the past when I have considered the story of Jesus defending the adulterous woman in John 8, I have wondered, “What was He writing in the dirt?” Today as I was doing my normal household work, I recalled this story with a new focal point: He was writing. The what does not matter so much as the action itself.

It is interesting to me that Jesus does not inquire about this woman’s past or present circumstances. She had been caught in the act of adultery—an especially big deal for her setting, which insinuates all is not well with this woman without defining whether the problem is within herself or brought on by an external force (e.g. in the matter of sexual abuse). Beyond her punishable actions, she likely has emotional hurts, needs, and a life reflecting those areas of brokenness. As God, Jesus would have known these things; as man, His knowledge of her circumstances may have been limited. Either way, it appears He chooses to see her future rather than her past.

There is a parallel here to the story of creation: man being formed from the dust compared to Jesus writing in the dust. Writing is an act of creation. It is the release of a word. In the beginning God created by releasing His word (and BTW the word for spirit/Spirit is the same as the word for breath in both Hebrew and Greek, so the process of speaking words is also a release of His Spirit). Jesus now re-creates this woman’s life in a similar manner. He draws/writes in the dirt His word regarding the situation, or perhaps about her, or perhaps about Him. And through this His Spirit is also released: a spirit who desires creation, re-creation, reconciliation, and love beyond any other thing.

Jesus’ judgment for this situation—His ruling—overlooks the problem of the past/present in order to present a vision of the future. The further surprise is that although Jesus is without sin, He too is not willing to stone this women. He says, “Neither do I . Go and sin no more” (verse 11). It is natural that the sinful religious authorities be denied the right to stone her for her sins; but Jesus, having true authority and the prerogative to carry out retribution, chooses re-creation instead of extermination.

If judgment is defined as making wrong things right, His judgment is against the accusations and religious traps of these particular religious leaders and for the restoration of this woman’s full being (her internal feelings, and her external actions). Love propels this restoration; accusation solidifies the problem and hinders positive growth. Love carries the authority to say, “Go. Be renewed,” because it provides a vision for that future renewal.

The slavery question is complex, but I want to share a few thoughts regarding why Jesus didn’t outright abolish slavery and why slavery is not advocated against in the New Testament.

Throughout scripture, God typically works from the inside out. He’s a God that cares that the cup is clean first on the inside and then on the outside. Outside appearance (if one seems good) is much less important than the heart of a person (if ones thoughts and desires are good). When it comes to slavery, it is the same idea.

How can we transform a corrupt and wicked system? Can we do it by forcing people to follow set rules and patterns? This almost never works. I don’t think many people would advocate slavery as an ethical system irregardless of their views on slavery for productivity or economical reasons. Yet, various forms of slavery have and do exist. It seems such tendencies of selfishness and ownership go hand in hand with human nature. And if this is the case—if slavery is a manifestation of unethical thoughts and desires within certain people—then the solution is to change those thoughts and desires. Would it be possible to transform the hearts of the masters to such an extent that they willingly set their slaves free? If so, this would be more efficient than forcing abolition.

So, instead of coming to the masters (the rich, the intelligent, the beautiful, the healthy, the prosperous), Jesus comes to the slaves (the poor, the weary, the beaten, the imprisoned, the prostitutes, those in physical slavery). Instead of dictating a system of rules to the ones who lead the world, He comes to the ones who are owned and weak and weary within the system. And what would you say to those ones? Slavery is wrong, it should be abolished? This is obvious. No need to tell the slave that he shouldn’t be owned—he knows that already. Instead, Jesus gave to the slaves and the lowly—to everyone who would listen—a better gift: an inner freedom.

Jesus did free the slaves, but He freed them from feeling oppressed. He promises that in Him is fullness of joy, perfect love, unprecedented peace, and hope that one day the corrupt system will be overturned in a physical way when He comes again to rule as King of the earth. This is an inside out process. The slaves receive freedom beyond what their masters are capable of experiencing. Oh the irony that those who think they are free are not while those who are physically oppressed can be free! But then the slaves can pass this freedom on to the masters, and as the masters are renewed internally they can begin to change the system. In this way, the weak minister to the strong. It is one of the great biblical paradoxes.

The fullness of this process has not yet come. God is still working to grant freedom to new hearts. But a time is coming when everyone picks a side—for God or against Him—and when that time comes, the Lord Himself will return to earth to free us in a physical way from the corruption of the world systems.

??Be sure to also read Part One, Part Two and Part Three of this series.

Be sure to also read Part One and Part Two of this series.

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to demonstrate His Glory among Egypt and Israel and the earth so that the people would know He is God.  But Pharaoh wasn’t chosen as a tragic casualty so that his people would see God’s power; there is more to the story.

The Biblical account in Exodus 3-15 shows us that Pharaoh wasn’t pursuing to know the Hebrew God, and in fact was consumed with his own gods and his own ways.  In other words, he was already hardening his own heart to God, God just allowed for this to happen more quickly.  We also see that God has full knowledge of Pharaoh’s thoughts and intentions, and is making a good and righteous judgment by hardening Pharaoh’s heart.

This is a pretty long account, so I’m going to highlight just a few areas; I’d encourage those who are interested in this story to read and dialog with God about it more thoroughly.

1. Ex 3: 19: God is giving Moses instructions on how to present his case to Pharaoh and says He knows that king of Egypt will not permit the Hebrews to leave except under compulsion (or 'unless a mighty hand compels him').
2. Ex 7:3: God will harden Pharaoh's heart that He may put on a bigger show--that He may multiply the signs and wonders in the land.
3. Ex 7:22: Pharaoh's heart is hardened because he sees that his own magicians can do the same 'magic' as the Lord--he doesn't care to know God, but to have power, and he isn't impressed by God's power so long as his magicians can imitate it.  If he were to seek the Lord, it would be for the wrong intentions: to have more power and control.
4. Ex 8:15: here Pharaoh hardens his own heart and it is clear his desire was for relief from the plague rather than an awe at the power of God.
5. Ex 8:18-19: even when his magicians cannot imitate God's power and admit to Pharaoh that "This is the finger of God" he does not listen.  He really doesn't want to know God.
6. Ex 9:16: God could have just killed Egypt to free the Jews.  He went about freeing them in this creative way so that His power and name would be proclaimed in ALL the earth.  He may have picked the Jews, but He's always wanted everyone to know of Him and be His people.
7. Ex 9:34: at some moments Pharaoh hardens his own heart...
8. Ex 11:9-10: other times, God hardens Pharaoh's heart, giving Him the chance to do even more miracles.

God is very much about free will (letting us make our own choices).  As a result, He will help us get wherever we want to go faster.  If we earnestly desire Him, we will find Him.  If we want to engage our own desires and run our own lives, He will let us do that too--in some cases speeding up the process of hardening our hearts so that the 'smashing of the clay' can be done sooner than later, or so that we can be a demonstration of His might.

So, when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, it wasn’t a violation of Pharaoh’s will, but a hastening of the choice Pharaoh had already made.  It also provided for Pharaoh to have a final season of mercy as God did extravagant signs and wonders right before his eyes—signs and wonders that also gave the Israelites confidence and awe in their God, and allowed for the name of the Lord to be known throughout the nations (Ex 15:1-3, Ex 15:14-16).

The word of the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and led him to a potter’s house where the potter was working clay into a vessel.  The Lord uses this physical demonstration to show Jeremiah how, like the potter, He wants to mold us into beautiful vessels, but sometimes we (the clay) aren’t malleable in His hands.  (Jer 18)

With each piece of clay there’s a turning point where the clay just can’t be reworked any longer.  The clay is so stubborn that it becomes hard and the potter can’t physically mold it.  This clay becomes a ‘vessel of wrath’ and is thrown into the valley where it shatters into pieces.  (Jer 19)

It is always God’s intention to make beautiful vessels. When we don’t listen to His purposes or incline our hearts to know His ways, we become spoiled in His hands—He can remold us again and again, but there is always a point where we, like the clay, can’t be reworked.  It isn’t God’s fault when we don’t cooperate, it’s ours; just as the potter wanted to make lovely vessels but couldn’t if the clay wouldn’t cooperate.

God’s exhortation to Jeremiah through the physical demonstration of the clay is to warn the people to turn away from evil, and to reform their ways and their deeds (Jer 18:11).  He wants them to turn back to Him so adamantly that He is willing to use severe measures to get their attention that perhaps they will be shaken by the extremity of what their stubbornness is doing to them.

There is a physical choice, in other words, to soften our hearts to the Lord (the circumcision of the heart) and be malleable in His hands.  This requires complete surrender (submissiveness) on our part, but allows that we would be created into a beautiful vessel of the Lord—and once we understand that He is good as He says He is, we can trust that whatever He wants to make us into really is the most fulfilling thing.

Be sure to also read: Is God Good? (Part One).

In the Old Testament there were times when God killed nations of people at once—even all but eight people in the day of Noah and the flood—but He was still good.

The Lord gave me a metaphor to describe the steadfastness of His love and goodness within the destruction of the flood.  He asked me:

If you had a farm and all the animals caught a really painful, harmful disease that was definitely incurable what would you do?  Surely, you wouldn't want them to have to go on living like that and to have babies who would also live tragically painful lives.  So, wouldn’t it be more merciful for you to kill (as quickly and painlessly as possible) the infected animals before they got worse, multiplied, and infected others on the farm?

God's goodness means He is concerned not just with the here-and-now of our lives, but with the eternal--with the whole big picture.

Something had happened in the days of Noah which caused God to take action by destroying life on the earth: there was ungodly sexuality, violence, and evil reigned continually in the hearts and thoughts of men (Gen 6).  In fact, it’s so bad that God not only kills the large majority of the earth, but lowers the lifespan to 120 years so that future generations would have less time to cultivate evil (Gen 6:3).

The people were so corrupt that God in His infinite knowledge knew there was no hope for them turning to Him without His violating free will, which He chooses not to do; their hatred was too deep.  They were infected with the disease of wickedness, because they choose to cultivate the wickedness of their hearts.  In order that they would not multiply and produce more kids (who would be raised in wickedness and endure eternal punishment), and so they would not create for themselves even more sin (which would ensue even more judgment), God, being full of mercy and justice, chose to kill them.

This wasn’t God’s ‘plan’—He never delights in killing anyone.  Scripture says that He was “sorry” and “grieved in His heart” by man’s actions (Gen 6:6-7).  These aren’t the emotions of an uncaring God, but of one who is so intimately involved with His creations that their apostasy deeply saddens Him.

It made God sad that the people would choose wickedness over Him, but He could not let them dictate and infect the decisions of future generation, nor could He let them continue to destroy themselves in their wickedness.  So it was in His goodness and perfect love that God destroyed and cleansed the earth with water, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals that were left with them in the ark.

I’ve met so many people—both Christians and not—who struggle to believe in, connect with, or admire God because it’s hard for them to see Him as ‘good’; so this is post one in a series on God’s goodness.

I want to begin by showing that the Bible testifies that He is good.  In later posts I will focus specifically on how we can see God’s goodness within the Bible stories that seem mostly negative (and perhaps this can move into discussion of how God is working in our day-to-day lives).  If a specific Bible account has particularly bothered you or a friend in terms of God’s goodness, please comment about it below and perhaps I will address it specifically.

Here is one of my favorite psalms in which David testifies of the Lord’s goodness:

Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts / And I will tell of Your greatness. / They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness / And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful; / Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. / The Lord is good to all, / And His mercies are over all His works. / All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, / And Your godly ones shall bless You. / They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom / And talk of Your power; / To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts / And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. / Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, / And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord sustains all who fall / And raises up all who are bowed down. / The eyes of all look to You, / And You give them their food in due time. / You open Your hand / And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways / And kind in all His deeds. / The Lord is near to all who call upon Him. / To all who call upon Him in truth. / He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; / He will also hear their cry and will save them. / The Lord keeps all who love Him. / But all the wicked He will destroy. / My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, / And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.  (Psalm 145:6-21)

I love David’s account here of God’s character.  If God is who David says He is, than He’s not just good but abundantly good in a way we can physically remember!  He’s not just righteous, but righteous in a way that will cause us to shout for joy if we truly experience it!  He is enough to satisfy every living thing, near to all who call on Him in truth, and protecting all who love Him.  Perhaps what catches me the most is that He is “good to all”, which means that even as He is destroying the wicked He is good!  This can be a bit mind-boggling, so is worth breaking down.  We will spend many more posts on this (though perhaps not consecutively—especially as I am currently out-of-state visiting family). :)