“God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” This simple prayer is the first one that many children are taught to say in their formative years. Some may casually dismiss this prayer as trite and obvious, but the profound Biblical truth that it contains should be firmly rooted in the heart of every child of God.

God is good. In our day of overstatement and exaggeration, the simple adjective good is somehow not good enough anymore. To make something or someone sound exciting, we are taught to use more dramatic adjectives, such as incredible, superb, astounding, amazing, wonderful, thrilling, terrific, stupendous, or, sadly, even superstar. But the Bible surpasses all these fluffy words with the simple statement that God is good.

Over and over in the Book of Psalms, we read a statement of praise that ascribes the quality of goodness to Jehovah. “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 118:1). He is good. This statement, “He is good,” is expressed nine times in Scripture.

Have you ever paused to give thanks for God’s goodness? Goodness is part of His nature and is a constant reality. We often mistakenly use the phrase “God has been very good to me” to describe a period of special blessing or happiness, such as the healthy arrival of a child, recovery from an illness, or a safe return from a long trip.

But the reality is that God is good all the time! He is good when He allows a miscarriage in the womb. He is good when our car is wrecked on the highway. He is good, even when we die! His goodness is consistent and steadfast. We may not always understand the how or why of this attribute, but we can and should always believe in His constant goodness.

When Moses asked Jehovah to show him a glimpse of His glory, the Lord answered, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee” (Exodus 33:19). In the cleft of the rock, covered by the hand of the Almighty, Moses saw a glimpse of the Lord’s goodness.

The Lord is good in all His ways: that is, Who He is. He is good in all His works: that is, in what He does. God is good in all His words: that is, in what He says. Let’s look a little closer at these three important aspects of God’s goodness.

God is good in all His ways: that is, Who He is.

According to Psalm 103, God “made known his ways unto Moses” (verse 7). The God of the Bible has not left us to guess what He is like. He is a God of self-revelation. He has made Himself known to us in a gracious, intimate way.

One of the important things that God has revealed about Himself is His Own goodness. God Himself says that He is good. The psalmist acknowledged, “The LORD is good to all” (Psalm 145:9). The Lord stated of Himself that “my people shall be satisfied with my goodness” (Jeremiah 31:14).

No matter the circumstances you may find yourself in, are you willing and able to confess that God is good? Are you dissatisfied with your frustrating situation, or are you satisfied with His goodness? Learn to pray again the simple prayer of a child, “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him . . . . Amen.”

God is good in all His works: that is, in what He does.

Not only is God good in Who He is, He is also good in whatever He does. In the opening verses of Genesis is the first recorded work of God: the creation of the world. What did God say of His work? “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). He did not say that it was terrific or incredible or astounding. He simply said that it was very good.

To add any other adjective would be like sprinkling glitter on the painting of a master artist. Rembrandt did not need to add glitter to his paint! It was good and complete just as it was. So also is the Lord’s work. It is good. That is sufficient.

He is good in all His words: that is, in what He says.

It is not without reason that our grandparents and great-grandparents often referred to the Bible simply as “The Good Book.” Above all books, the Bible is good because its Author is good. In it there is nothing impure, nothing false, nothing exaggerated, nothing that will lead a man or a woman astray. It is the Book of books.

In Micah 2:7, the Lord asked His rebellious people, “do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?” The Good Book is given by a good God to us for our own good!

Are you meditating daily on the good words of God? Do you think your own thoughts, or do you think His thoughts? Heed the advice of previous generations and find in the Good Book all that is needed to satisfy your soul.

May we join our voices with the psalmist and say, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good.” We should thank God daily for the goodness of His ways, for the goodness of His works, and for the goodness of His words.