It Starts with Believing God is Good

Written By Gabrielle Triyono, USA

We all have probably said “Thank God” or “God is good” many times in our lives. But do our choices and way of living truly reflect what we say? It wasn’t always the case for me.

Growing up as a Christian, I was taught that God is good. I have also seen Him do good things in my life. But even though I’d witnessed God’s miraculous hand upon my life, I still had moments of doubt and fear in what God was asking me to do.

For a while, God had put in my heart to let go of a relationship. I’d seen God’s faithfulness and goodness when He had asked me to let go of things previously, but my desire for this relationship blinded me from seeing God’s way as good. I pressed on with my own will and decided that God’s way wasn’t good enough.

I soon found how wrong I was.

This relationship ended up pulling me away from God. I got distracted and lost sight of what God was calling me to do. The books that God put in my heart to write got delayed, and I was not able to give myself fully to serving in the ministries at my church. Because Jesus was never the center of our relationship, both of us were not growing spiritually.

I came to the realization that if I stayed in this relationship, I would never reach God’s destiny for my life. I finally had the courage to believe that God’s way was best, so I obeyed and let go of the relationship.

Since then, I have seen Him move more in my life than ever before. God opened the door for me to be a leader in the singles ministry at my church (even though I had only attended the ministry for a couple of months). I was also invited to speak, share a sermon, and lead worship for my church’s singles ministry Christmas event. It was humbling to see how my message resonated with people walking in different seasons of life; many shared that it was just what they needed to hear.

I have also been deeply encouraged by how God has used my writings on “Living Revelations” to reach out to others, some of whom have written testimonies to share how they appreciate the relevancy of the pieces as well as my transparency.

I’ve seen Ephesians 3:20 become real in my life: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” God certainly gave me more than what I could imagine. He opened more doors for my ministry. And He was moving more in my life.

That episode helped me realize this important truth: Realizing God’s goodness positions us to walk in obedience to enter into our destiny. Psalm 18:30 reminds us, “As for God, his way is perfect . . .”

I can’t help but wonder about the many times we have missed out on God’s blessing by refusing to obey Him because we refused to believe that His way is perfect. I had to learn the hard way that God’s way may not feel like the best way, but His way is always the best.

Simon Peter’s first encounter with Jesus is a good example of the importance of trusting in what Jesus is calling us to do. In Luke 5, we see Jesus asking Peter to sail to deep waters to fish again. Peter had just spent the whole night trying to catch fish but caught nothing.

His response to Jesus was, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (v. 5). Peter was exhausted, and the way he responded suggests that he did not feel Jesus’s idea was a good one. But despite his doubts and hesitant feelings, he did it anyway.

What was the outcome? Overwhelming blessing.

Peter and his fellow fishermen caught so much fish that the nets began to break (v. 6). Luke 5:8-9 says, “When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus . . . For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught . . .” (emphasis mine).

Peter came to a realization of God’s goodness. If he had followed his feelings and not listened to Jesus, he would never have been in the position he was in—at the feet of Jesus, in complete awe of his power.

Maybe we’re like Simon Peter. But just as his experience showed, our feelings don’t make reality. God wants to overwhelm us with His goodness and blessing, but it starts with our obedience.

Will we respond to Jesus like Simon Peter, and say, “Because you say so, I will do it”?

If you haven’t seen the hand of God move in your life, now is your chance to see His goodness poured out in your life. And if you have seen God move in your life, believe that He will do it again.

Will we follow what Jesus is asking us to do in faith, despite our feelings and doubts? Will we come to the realization of this simple truth that God is always for our good?

We don’t have to be afraid of what is to come. As long as we are walking with God, His goodness will always follow our lives. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”

There is nothing better than living in the will of God.

This article was originally published on the writer’s blog here. This version has been edited by YMI.