All My Goodness
(Moses said unto God)
"If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people
have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us?
so shall we be separated, I and thy people,
from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken:
for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee,
and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee;
and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”
Exodus 33: 15-19
Those of us who are Bible believing Christians all enjoy the wonder of our great Salvation and the blessed fact that we are now entered into a living relationship with the living God Himself, in and through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
None of us have ever seen God at any time, and if we had, we would have been consumed in an instant. We will never be able to see God in our present condition, in the flesh, even though we are “accepted in the Beloved”, but that doesn't mean that we have been left to our own devices to struggle through our days on earth without any form of communication from God Himself.
When Moses, the man of God wanted to see his God, he was informed that this was not possible for him either! However, God did allow this one very precious privilege for Moses, and God allowed him to take a look at His “goodness” pass by before him. What an attribute to behold and contemplate! What a very great honour and privilege!
Perhaps there are times when we are floundering, or maybe just drifting through life without living in the enjoyment of the reality of His divine presence in our lives. Whatever can we do to refresh our souls again? What can we do to bring our minds back in alignment with His once more? Let us take a moment or two to think on the goodness of God in our lives. And isn't He very good and gracious to all of us individually?
Did you know that God makes His goodness to pass by before us every day of our lives?
We may be in the prime of life, and enjoying good health and strength. We may be living in the good of all the comforts that we enjoy on a day-to-day basis. As Christians we may be privileged to enjoy the liberty of the Gospel, being able to read our Bibles without looking over our shoulder. We may be able to meet with His people without fear of foes, and enjoy the freedom to share a word of encouragement with a fellow believer, or to speak freely the Gospel so that other's can come into the benefit of full and free Salvation.
Others of course may not be in possession of such privileges but then they may be more aware of the presence of the Lord in their lives, or know by experience the reliability of His precious promises. Of course there is the blessed hope of an unspeakably bright future for all to look forward to!
We are all recipients of the goodness of God without even realising it and often taking for granted this very fact. Even those of us who are going through trials and difficulties of varying degrees, can still testify of the goodness of God towards them in one form or another.
It is also His goodness that sets our hearts aright for; “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance”. It is the goodness of God that melts the heart of a needy sinner enabling them to turn away from their sin and trust fully in the Saviour who died in their place on the cross. It is also the goodness of God that helps us to see things in the right perspective once more.
Let us never forget, especially those who are passing through the valley experience that He whose glory exceeds the brightness of the midday sun has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us, and before the moment of time when God allowed Moses to see His goodness pass before him, He made this promise to him:
