After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, I prayed, "Sovereign LORD, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you. You have shown constant love to thousands, but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are a great and powerful God; you are the LORD Almighty. You make wise plans and do mighty things; you see everything people do, and you reward them according to their actions. Long ago you performed miracles and wonders in Egypt, and you have continued to perform them to this day, both in Israel and among all the other nations, so that you are now known everywhere. By means of miracles and wonders that terrified our enemies, you used your power and might to bring your people Israel out of Egypt. You gave them this rich and fertile land, as you had promised their ancestors. But when they came into this land and took possession of it, they did not obey your commands or live according to your teaching; they did nothing that you had ordered them to do. And so you brought all this destruction on them."

Jeremiah 32:16-23

People sometimes drift away from the LORD when times are good. They don’t think they need God. God seems unnecessary. C.S. Lewis has noted, "God whispers to us in our pleasures…but shouts in our pains." If we refuse to listen when He whispers to us, He may use shouts to get our attention. The goodness of God is a reason to obey Him, not an opportunity to disobey. When we realize that, our relationship with the LORD will be strengthened, not weakened, by His wonderful bounty and blessing.

The goodness of God speaks volumes about His character.

Our Daily Bread – November 19, 2002