The common expression “my goodness!” rolls all too frequently off the lips of God’s children. Many thoughtlessly use this expression to display shock, surprise, delight, or simply to emphasize a statement. Have you ever considered the implications of this common expression?
First, we have no goodness of our own to claim! Fallen man—and even redeemed man—is not inherently good. We are all depraved and sinful creatures by nature and by choice. According to Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Understanding this truth, we should not say “my goodness” because we have none! Scripture affirms that “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3).
More importantly, to say “oh, my goodness!” is actually a “minced oath.” A minced oath is a more socially acceptable way to say, “Oh, my God!” Yet, although seemingly “milder,” it is still taking the name of the Lord our God in vain. Christians should carefully seek to honor God’s name and avoid any expression or minced oath that would use His holy name in an unholy way. Instead of saying “my goodness,” let us instead make mention of God’s goodness.
God’s eternal attribute of perfect goodness is what should be proclaimed (as opposed to our “goodness”). In Jeremiah 31:14, God Himself uses the term “my goodness” to describe how His children should be satisfied with His perfections: “And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.”
In the context of this verse, the Lord is speaking of the day when the remnant of Israel will be revived, regathered from their captivity, and restored to the Promised Land. In Jeremiah 31:1, the Lord speaks a word of hope to His chastised people: “At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.” In view is the eternal goodness of God. As a people, they have sinned. But as their God, He has restored them. They have rebelled, but He loves them still. They are sinful. God and God alone is good.
God’s Goodness Brings Grace in the Wilderness
“Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry” (Jeremiah 31:2–4).
Have you ever felt like you were alone and in the wilderness? Have the troubles of life and the cruelty of men left you feeling desolate, fearful, and forsaken? Be of good cheer! A good and gracious God has loved you with an everlasting love. You can find grace, even in the wilderness!
God’s Goodness Turns Sorrow into Gladness
Although His people deserved nothing and though they had no goodness of their own to claim, yet God’s goodness was manifested to them freely and fully! Instead of weeping, the Lord invites His repentant people to sing again. “For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:7–9).
Godly sorrow brings forth the fruit of repentance. Tears are an important part of the human experience. Many of us who have felt the chastisement of our loving Father have found it appropriate to weep and to mourn. But weeping and mourning are only for a short time. Joy cometh in the morning! The Apostle Paul wrote that it is “the goodness of God” that is the instrument of leading us “to repentance” (Romans 2:4). If you have wept under the chastening hand of the Lord, know that through His goodness, He is able to turn your sorrow into gladness.
God’s Goodness Turns Emptiness into Fullness
At the heart of this restoration was the goodness of God. “Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:12–13).
In a desolate land, spoiled by war, God was able to fill His people again. The invading armies had butchered the livestock that once covered the hills of Judea. The vineyards and the groves of olive trees had been burned and destroyed. Yet, the Lord promises that out of His Own goodness, He will provide wheat, wine, oil, lambs, and calves again to the desolate land. The souls of the inhabitants of Zion would become as a watered garden.
If your soul is empty like a parched, dry garden, and you are hungry and longing to be filled, the Lord is able to restore your soul as a “watered garden” for you. According to Psalm 104:13, “He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.” The God Whose goodness sends the rain upon the mountains is the same God Who is able to fill you with the finest of wheat!
God’s Goodness Satisfies
It is after this buildup that the Lord says, “my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:14). What satisfies you? Are you satisfied with your circumstances, your job, your material possessions? All these things are temporary and fleeting. They can never satisfy. Only God’s goodness can truly satisfy. His goodness still flows, even when all these things are taken away.
May God give each of us the grace to turn away from dependence upon transitory things and find our satisfaction only and always in His goodness.