Strong and SecureSample

You Are Good

“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.” Psalm 119:68

Lynn

Have you ever walked into a room knowing something’s wrong, but you can’t put your finger on it? You caught people sharing looks with one another. What was said before I walked in? you wonder. Something is going on. People are smiling, acting nice, and trying to be “normal,” but normal is not what’s happening.

When that happened to me recently, I found out later that there had been a fight. Someone had been talking about me. Though they were acting as if things between us were good, they weren’t being good toward me.

Psalm 119:68 teaches us that Father God is good. Always. It is who He is. He never betrays us. When I am in our Father’s presence, I can experience His peace. I trust that what He has for me is good and comes from love because He is love.

With our Father, there is no such thing as manipulation or false motives. Good, which Father God is, does not look out for itself to the detriment of the other person. God never pretends with us. When God created us, He gave us free will, meaning He has no hidden motives or plans to manipulate us with false guilt, or intentions to force us into obedience by giving us no other choice. Manipulation to get a person to act a certain way does not come from love. It is essential for us to understand this because sometimes the path of following God will be hard. We’ll be faced with difficult choices concerning what we will do, who we choose to spend time with, and the way we will go. Keeping our focus on our Father and His pure, untainted love will help us continue following Him.

Knowing Father God is good empowers us to relax and be at peace in His love. With His power, we can choose to pay attention to and focus on His peace within us, not ruminate on anxious or fearful thoughts, because the One who is our Father works all things for our good (Romans 8:28). We can trust Him.

Experiencing Father God’s Peace

Father, I am so grateful You are good and You do good. I will find peace today in this truth. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Growing Stronger

Look up Isaiah 26:3. What is the action we take in order to experience His perfect peace? Choose a method to keep this verse on your mind today: a note on your phone, a text you send yourself, or a note in your pocket you can pull out.

We adapted this plan from the book, “Strong and Secure” by Michelle Nietert, LPC-S and Lynn Cowell. Learn more here: Strong and Secure: 100 Devotions for Young Women – FaithGateway