The Goodness of God Won’t Make You A Believer?

Nehemiah 9:15-16 (NIV) – 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them. 16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands.

Nehemiah is praying. Nehemiah addresses God by highlighting the many good things He did and has done and keeps doing for Israel. Then Nehemiah contrasts the response of God’s people. God was so good to them, and yet they responded to that goodness by rebellion and arrogance. God was good but they remained bad people, unbelievers and wicked sinners. Yet God had been good to them!

Sometimes when we suffer and feel like God hasn’t been good to us, we rebel. We seem to suggest that if God had been good to us, we would become believers. If God had prevented that death that hurt me so deep. If God had prevented that breakup that has left me devastated. We seem to suggest that our faith would grow stronger if God was good to us according to us.

Would we be better believers if God stopped that infection that we sought in our sinful escapades? Would we be better believers if God had been so good to us and given us success in exams we never prepared for? Would we be better believers if we got wealthy from some prayers without working hard, since God has been good to make us wealthy? Does the goodness of God make us better believers?

If God handled us nicely and was continuously and consistently good to us, would we be better believers? If our lives were one desired miracle to another desired miracle, would we be better and stronger believers? If our deep spirituality and religiosity would cause God to be good to us, so that we face no harm, pain or evil, would we be better believers?

It was very rough for Job, yet he is a better believer. It was many years of anguish waiting on God for Abraham and Sarah, yet they were better believers. Apostle Paul suffered a lifetime of unanswered prayer, yes a prayer that was never answered as he desired, yet he was a better believer. Must God be consistently good to you in your terms for you to be a better believer?

Nehemiah 9:14-17 (NIV) – 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them. 16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,

Nehemiah 9:5-15 is a prayer of Nehemiah highlighting the goodness of God to Israelites. It is a story of a good God. So good to His people. Gracious and ever providing. Ever forgiving. Ever saving them even when they do not deserve to be saved. Nehemiah 9:16-17 simply summarises the people’s response to the goodness of God. They responded in rebellion. They responded in arrogance. They responded in much greater wickedness. That was their response to the goodness of God. The goodness of God did not make them better believers.

Matthew 5:45 (NIV) – … He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God is good to both the righteous and the unrighteous. God shows His goodness by sending the sun and the rain to both groups. Yet the righteous remain righteous and the unrighteous remain unrighteous. God’s goodness doesn’t make the unrighteous to change their mind and be righteous.

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) – For it is by grace you have been saved, through FAITH—and this is not from yourselves, it IS THE GIFT OF GOD —

In order to be a believer, you do not need to be a recipient of good things from God, you need faith. Faith builds the relationship and strengthens it. Good things may not improve a relationship.

Faith is a decision to believe and trust the one you relate with. Faith believes and trusts the other person under all circumstances. Faith is what makes believers. Faith is the solid foundation on which relationships are built. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith it is impossible to be a believer or even to relate with God.

A relationship between two people, such as husband and wife, is built on faith. Without that decision to believe and trust the other person, no amount of niceness will improve that relationship. People cheat on people who are nice to them and on people who are cruel. Niceness doesn’t prevent infidelity. Faithfulness is a decision to believe and trust. Faithfulness is a choice.

Matthew 5:43-45 (NIV) – 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Romans 12:20 (NIV) – On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Jesus said love those who hate you. Their lack of goodness towards you, shouldn’t affect you. Make a choice to be nice and good to them, regardless of their lack of goodness towards you. All relationships require such decisions. A choice to be in the relationship, in spite of how good or bad the other person is. Their goodness or lack of it changes nothing. The goodness of God or lack of it doesn’t affect your faith in Him.

Job 13:15 (NIV) – Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

Job was faithful to God even when it SEEMED God wasn’t good to him. Job declares that even if God kills him, he will remain faithful. The relationship between God and Job did not depend on God being nice to Job. Job is clear that whether God shows him goodness or not, it won’t change his faith. He is a believer, by choice, by faith, and not because God has done good things for him.

Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV) – 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the GOD we serve IS ABLE TO DELIVER US from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that WE WILL NOT SERVE YOUR gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ”

Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego tell the king that their faith is not dependent on how God is good to them. God has ability to save them, but if He doesn’t save them, they will remain faithful. They are believers, whether God has shown them goodness or not. The goodness of God doesn’t make them believers. They are believers by choice, by faith.

We are not saying that God is not good. We are saying the constant goodness of God that never fails doesn’t change unbelievers to be believers. For one to be a believer, you need a decision called faith. Make a decision to believe and trust God even when you think He is not good to you. That decision is what makes you a believer.

When we think God is not being good, it is our perception of Him and His ways that is limited. Otherwise God is always good but we don’t always understand His goodness. That is why we must have faith even when we think He is not being nice by not answering this or that prayer. When He allows pain and hurt to come our way, He is still good but we don’t understand. At that point we need more faith. 

The following song is titled “Trust His Heart” – Songwriters: Eddie Carswell / Babbie Mason. Take time and listen to it after reading the following lyrics. All relationships require trust .

“All things work for our good

Though sometimes we don’t see how they could

Struggles that break our hearts in two

Sometimes blind us to the truth

Our Father knows what’s best for us

His ways are not our own

So when your pathway grows dim

And you just can’t see Him

Remember you’re never alone

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don’t understand

When you don’t see His plan

When you can’t trace His hand

Trust His heart

Trust His heart

He sees the master plan

And He holds our future in His hand

So don’t live as those who have no hope

All our hope is found in Him

We see the present clearly

But He sees the first and the last

And like a tapestry, He’s weaving you and me

To someday be just like Him

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don’t understand

When you don’t see His plan

When you can’t trace His hand

Trust His heart

He alone is faithful and true

He alone knows what is best for you

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don’t understand

When you don’t see His plan

When you can’t trace His hand

Trust His Heart

When you don’t understand

When you don’t see His plan

When you can’t trace His hand

Trust His heart

Trust His heart

Source: Musixmatch

May God grant us faith in Him and in our relationships with others. May we trust His heart particularly when we don’t understand why bad things are happening to us. May our relationships be built on a God given choice, a choice that remains consistent in good times and times we perceive as bad times. In Jesus name, Amen!

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