“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalm 31:19 ESV).
David wrote to God’s people as one who had experienced fear, rejection, slander, and danger, yet had also experienced the Lord’s faithful deliverance. When he considered what God had done, he seemed almost overwhelmed by wonder: “Oh, how abundant is your goodness!” He was not merely affirming that God was good. He was astonished at a goodness greater than he could comprehend.
David distinguished between the goodness God had “stored up” and the goodness He had already “worked.” Some of God’s goodness had already become visible in David’s life, but much more remained in reserve. What God had already done became evidence of what He could still do.
Those who “fear” God and those who “take refuge” in Him described the same believing people from two perspectives. They reverenced God for His greatness and relied upon Him for His grace. David also declared that God’s goodness would become visible “in the sight” of others. The world would eventually see God publicly vindicating and caring for His people even when others slander or despise them.
We can be tempted to doubt God’s goodness when we cannot presently see all that He is doing. Yet what we have already experienced is only a portion of what He has stored up for us. Past grace should strengthen our confidence in future grace. Every answered prayer, every unexpected provision, every sustaining mercy, and every act of deliverance reminds us that God has not exhausted His goodness toward us.
Therefore, when present circumstances look dark, we can still take refuge in Him. We can look backward at goodness already worked and forward to goodness still stored up. Our God is not running out of mercy, grace, provision, or love. We live every day because of the abundant goodness of God.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us remember Your past faithfulness and trust You for the goodness we have not yet seen. Teach us to fear You, take refuge in You, and rest confidently in Your inexhaustible grace and goodness. In Jesus’ name, amen.