When we sing “You Are God And You Are Good,” we rejoice in the fact that the God of the Bible is powerful and merciful. He is sovereign, eternal, and full of grace. As Christians we see these attributes shine in God’s goodness, especially in His letting us stand secure in our salvation.
Before the redemptive work of Christ had taken root in our lives, we were covered in sin, guilt, and regret. We were lifeless and without hope. Upon our salvation, however, Jesus bathed us in His death and resurrection and gave the final statement on our standing for this life and the next.
For this life, Jesus made clear that we can trust God’s goodness, even during our difficult circumstances. Even during the painful seasons of our life, even if we’re nailed to a cross, Jesus’s death and resurrection assure us that we can trust God is working together the best possible outcome for us. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 ESV).
When we sing “You are good, Lord of everything,” we agree with Paul and confidently declare that God is not only in perfect, sovereign control, but also that He is always exercising His perfect goodness toward us. When chaos abounds and all seems lost, God is as good as He was when we first tasted His grace.
While God is indeed good to us through trial, He is also present and good to us in our fight against sin. For though God has plainly commanded us to abstain from the passions of the flesh, He knows we can’t conquer sin in our own power and hasn’t left us to fight alone. Out of His infinite goodness, He sent His Holy Spirit to empower us to victory over sin in our everyday lives. Hear Jesus while He was still on earth give a glimpse of how the Spirit would relate to us:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask
the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever.” (John 14:15-16 ESV)
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in a number of ways: Comforter, Judge, Guide, and here, in John 14:16, as our Helper. Jesus knew how helpless we’d be and so He kindly begged to have the Holy Spirit come. He, the Spirit, has indeed come and He is indeed helping all God’s people. If we’ve ever broken the chains of addiction, destructive habits, and persistent hunger for sin, trust that it wasn’t without His help.
Regarding our next life, our eternal life, the Christian can stand secure knowing that nothing can ever pluck us from the grip of God’s hand:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39 ESV)
In this song we celebrate that promise:
No mountain no valley could ever separate us
No power no darkness could ever stand between us
Your glory forever will ever shine before us
No mountain no valley could ever separate us from your love
When we sing these precious lyrics, we reflect on His promise that no attack, scheme, or effort from Satan can ever disrupt our standing as a child of God. We sing these words not only to praise God for His goodness, but to remember it and be comforted by it, and so we do so with exuberance!
