God Is a Good God by Gloria Copeland

PURSUIT OF HIS PRESENCE -- DAILY DEVOTIONALSEARCH October 4, 2013 God Is a Good God Gloria Copeland Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. – James 1:17 The simple message that God is good often worries traditional, religious people. It bothers them when faith preachers say that God wants His people healed, prosperous and blessed in every way. I realize that sounds strange, but it has always been true. Years ago, when Oral Roberts first began preaching, a fellow minister complained, “I wish he wouldn’t preach that God is a good God,” he said. “People will get the wrong idea!” That minister was afraid, like so many are today, that people will hear that message and start expecting too much. They think gullible people will get the idea that God wants us all to live like kings. Personally, I’m not afraid of that, because that’s what the Bible teaches. When I say the Bible teaches it, I’m not talking about a few isolated scriptures. God’s will and plan to bless His people can be seen from Genesis to Revelation. If you’ll read the Book, you’ll see that man has never had to shout up at heaven and say, “Hey God, I want to be blessed so let’s make a deal. I’ll do these certain things—and You give me good things in return. How about it?” No, that’s a scene you’ll never see in the Bible because God always beats man to the punch. Blessing was originally His idea! That’s because He is good! He is totally innocent and pure, untouched by evil. So everything He creates is the same way. God created the earth and every good thing in it as a gift for man. And when it was finished, “the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:8). I want you to know, man had it made in the Garden. He had close communion with God Himself. Man’s every need and desire was abundantly supplied. He had perfect food, an ideal temperature, beautiful surroundings and even a perfect wife! And Eve had a perfect husband. If you want to see how blessed God wants us to be, just look at the Garden. That was His perfect will for man. That’s how He wanted us to live. All man had to do to remain in that blessed environment was believe and obey the Word of God. God never changes. He has always operated just like He did in the Garden. He wants us to live in continual blessing. And all we have to do is believe Him and obey His Word. Don’t listen to the devil like Adam and Eve did. Tell him to get out of your garden! Then live in the land of blessing, worshiping your God, who is a good God! Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:7-25 © 1999 Kenneth Copeland Ministries All rights reserved.