God is Good.

When God's hand is upon you for good, you are unstoppable.

God is Good.

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You."

(Psalm 86:5)

God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good. The enemy of our souls will tempt us in the valleys of difficulty to question the goodness of God. But God is love, and He is with us through all of life's trials, showering us with His goodness.

Nehemiah received permission from the king to go back to Judah and do all God had put in his heart to accomplish. In Nehemiah 2:7, he prefaced his requests with a tactful and artful word of diplomacy: "If it pleases the king." It took months to travel from Susa or Persia to Jerusalem in Judah. Ezra 7:9 says it took Ezra five months to make the journey: "On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him." (I love that phrase about the goodness of God!)

When God's hand is upon you for good, you are unstoppable. God blessed his man Nehemiah like He blessed other men of faith in the past, men like Joseph and David and women like Esther.

God has not changed. He is still good, and He still blesses, rewards, and gives favor to those who step out in faith and do His work. Chuck Swindoll writes,

"For four months, in the solitude of his prayer closet, Nehemiah had faithfully bombarded the throne of God: 'Lord, send me to Jerusalem. Change the heart of the king so that I can go. Give me the green light!' And Nehemiah had no doubt about the reason for this turn in events. When the Lord has His hand on His appointed leaders, it's like a sweeping wind as people are moved to respond. The Lord's hand was upon Nehemiah—and off he went, excited as he could be."

(Source: Swindoll, Hand Me Another Brick, p. 52-53)

I wonder if Nehemiah ever questioned the goodness of God while he waited for four months for the green light. Did he ever question in the dark what God had shown him in the light? I wonder if he asked, "When, God, will you deliver me from this place and send me where I need to go?" Some of you perhaps can relate. You have been waiting on God for days, months, or even years and it seems the heavens are as brass when you pray. You are waiting for that precise moment when the good hand of God will rest upon you like it did Nehemiah.

God is still good. And when the time comes, get ready, because you will be in for quite the ride!

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Podcast of the Week

Interview with Evangelist Ronnie Hill

Pastor Danny welcomes to the show his friend Ronnie Hill, a traveling evangelist who has preached at Great Hills Baptist Church and countless other churches many times over the years. Ronnie shares his testimony and those of his family members and talks about his life in ministry.

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