Wonderful Ways God Pours Out Goodness in the World

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In this sinful and broken world, God pours out His goodness.

He invites us to bring our pain, fear, failures, and confusion to Him, and by His grace through Jesus and the power of the Spirit, He pours patience, mercy, kindness, and love into us.

Then He uses us to pour His goodness into the lives of the people around us.

Today, I’d like to share just one of the times when God graciously poured His goodness over Rev and me through faith-filled friends.

Wonderful Ways God Pours Out His Goodness

Three years into our marriage, Rev and I purchased our first house.

We were returning to St. Louis after spending a year in Columbus, Ohio. In preparation, we scheduled a few days to work with a realtor to do some “house hunting.”

An important part of the story is that I was 28 weeks pregnant and just a bit hormonally emotional. So, I’ll admit that my tears flowed when the realtor said, “Well, you’re either going to have to decrease your expectations or increase the amount you are willing to spend!”

We had only looked at three houses. More money was not an option. And we weren’t looking for a palace; we just needed a place to call home.

Praise God! Later that day, someone Rev worked with recommended a different realtor, and the next day, he showed us what would become our first house. It was in the neighborhood we wanted, with a price tag we could afford—a cute little bungalow in South City, St. Louis.

I won’t go into all the details of the move. Moves are never easy, but by the time our move date arrived, I was only six weeks away from our daughter’s due date.

Here are just some of the highlights:

• The movers in Ohio were nine hours late and didn’t arrive until 7 pm.
• They didn’t get the truck fully loaded until after 10 pm.
• We were anxious and excited, so we started driving toward St. Louis right after the truck departed. But by 2 am, we were exhausted. So, we decided to spend the night in Indianapolis.
• However, due to a convention in town, there were “no rooms in the inn.” In any inn. So, we decided to stop for a nap at the next rest stop.
• Rev slept on the hood of the car. (Yes, it was a long time ago.) I slept in the front seat with our pup on the floor, and my 13-year-old brother (who was along to help with the move) slept in the back.
• We arrived in St. Louis the following day. Getting a hotel room wasn’t a problem. In fact, we lived in that room for two weeks because a family tragedy caused a delay in the seller’s ability to transfer the house to us as we’d hoped.
• And don’t think we were enjoying meals in restaurants and lazing around by the pool. We were cooking on a hot plate and in a toaster oven.
• This pregnant woman was starting to lose it!

Finally, after signing all the papers late on a Wednesday afternoon, we hurried off to a church softball game with keys in hand…

There we shared our first-time home-owner enthusiasm with friends and invited them to join us after the game for our first walk-through.

I wish I had photos of the expressions on our older and wiser friends’ faces. Let’s just say, “Oh no, what have these two kids done?” may have been going through their minds.

This house needed lots of work.

Faith-filled Friends Pour Out God’s Goodness

But before those families left our home that night, they told us to choose paint colors and be ready to see them at 9 a.m. Saturday.

They arrived on schedule and spent all weekend patching, painting, and repairing every inch of it, turning our “oh no” house into our home. They also provided yummy meals and covered us with encouragement and love.

At the time, their children ranged in age from 10 to 16. So, I’m quite sure they all had other things they could have been doing that weekend. 

But they dropped everything to pour out God’s goodness and love on us.

Honestly, it still overwhelms and humbles me.

God invites us to pour our frustrations and struggles out to Him. When life challenges us and our emotions bubble over, God sees and hears.

And because He is who He says He is, we can trust Him to pour out His mercy, grace, and love over us.

He promised…

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 4:16

He loves, forgives, saves, and strengthens, giving His children everything they need to share His goodness and love with one another.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Matthew 25:36–36

Let’s pray…

A Prayer Thanking God for His Goodness

Father God, You are good, and You graciously pour Your goodness over the lives of Your children. Thank you!

You know our needs even before You hear the cries of our hearts. To bless us and show us the goodness of Your grace, mercy, and love, You invite us to bring our prayers to You.

Then through Your Spirit, You work in us, in people around us, and in our circumstances to accomplish Your will.

Please forgive us when we doubt. Forgive me. Help us hold Your promises in our hearts and trust Your presence and power. May all Your children be quick to help one another, sharing Your goodness and love to honor and glorify You.

I can’t imagine living a moment without Your goodness. I praise You, that I don’t have to. All because of and through Jesus. In whose name, I pray. Amen.

May you be abundantly blessed by the goodness of God, and may the people around be blessed by His goodness within you.

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