God is Good
By Mikaela Cain
We teach the kids at True Life about God’s goodness almost every year in Sunday School. The lesson plan I created years ago includes a sort of funny illustration. I teach the children that God is good “like honey and kale.” God made both the honey and the kale. Honey tastes better to most people. Honey is used like sugar to sweeten food, but honey is also really good for you! We tell the kids that in a very simplified truth, honey helps you keep your allergies away! When a gift comes from God that “feels” good, it will also be good for you long-term. Not a lot of kids like eating raw kale, but kale is also really good for you. It has vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber and antioxidants. Basically, it’s a superfood! God made both of these, the honey and the kale. And these plants help us understand what “God is good” means.
The Bible says that everything God made is good, and that we can “Taste and see that the LORD is good." Psalm 34:8.
I came up with this idea for our kids because I kept thinking about how sometimes it’s easy to picture “good” with a subconsciously angry slant. Picture this: an angry nurse who stands by your bed while you’re in pain and says, “take your medicine, it’s good for you!” Someone who is devoid of kindness in their “love.” I think a lot of religious cultures move toward this view of God because we humans can’t fathom how deeply compassionate He is.
When I had my second son, this view really hit home. I had been induced and was on pitocin when the pain from the contractions started increasing to an excruciating level - particularly my lower back. I told the nurse that something was wrong, and after listening to me cry out during several contractions and explain what I was feeling, with the biggest-stone face I have ever seen, she asked me, “is it pain or is it pressure?” I felt like asking for a different nurse! ! Finally, I convinced her to get the anesthesiologist. She came in, took what I said seriously, and discovered that the epidural had moved! I wasn’t getting any relief from the medicine because it wasn’t in the right place - I would say that it was pain! Sometimes I incorrectly see God like that nurse - unfeeling and without compassion. Not validating our experiences and telling us to “take it.” But instead, God is like that anesthesiologist - who checked everything. Later, when it became clear that a c-section was warranted, the anesthesiologist stayed with us the whole time. The doctor wanted to put me fully under anesthesia due to some complications, but I fought to see my boy the second he was born if it was at all possible. Do you know who fought with me? The anesthesiologist. She worked with the doctor to come up with a plan to protect me and help me meet my boy Victor. She was such a wonderful example to me of the Father. Her goodness protected and believed in me, and supported me. It was an adventure that didn’t end the way I expected but it was good.
Good means “really'' good. There are so many Bible verses that emphasize His goodness. However, if we read them with a view of a slightly angry God (picture the nurse from my story) they really can’t encourage us in the way that we need. Even if the end result is the same (I had a baby either way) we won’t be emotionally connected and therefore, not open to God. However, if we can hear these same verses through the lens of a God who is good, fully good in every way, these verses can become fuel for your greatest adventures and to overcome great hardships.
With that in mind, I want to lead you on a very short encounter:
I encourage you to take a few deep breaths. Picture what a “good means really good” Father looks like. Imagine His face - the unconditional love and support and His kindness. Then, with that image, read the following verses about His goodness:
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)
“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees." (Psalm 119:68)
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." (Psalm 34:8)
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)
Mikaela felt called to work with street children and orphans when she was nine-years-old. She worked with orphans in Romania in 2006, after graduating high school. Her heart for ministering to children of all family statuses grew after she came home. Mikaela met her husband Grant at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. They both attended Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, CA, after graduating. There, Mikaela participated in and led a SideWalk Sunday School program for two years in a low-income neighborhood and worked at Bethel Christian School.
Grant and Mikaela got married in 2012. During their first year of marriage, they felt the Lord calling them to move back to Texas to be a part of the revival in the region. The Cains value ministering in a culture of honor. They both have a heart to see reconciliation in families, church communities and cities. They have three young children and live in Georgetown.
