“That’s too loud!”  This was exclaimed by Joseph Benton while visiting our home recently.  Joseph is our nine-year-old grandson, who is on the autism spectrum.   Children on the spectrum can have some of their senses heightened, which makes normal things to the average person painful for them.  

Papa Gaylon dropped something that made a loud noise, and Joseph looked at me.  I quickly said to him, “Goodness!  That was loud!”   Joseph repeated, “Goodness, that was loud!”   A few times during the remainder of his visit, Joseph would look at me and say, “Goodness is loud!”  While playing with toys, he would look up at me and say, “Is goodness loud?” 

That is a good question Joseph, “Is goodness loud?”

Joseph’s question caused me to ponder about just how loud goodness is.   There is no goodness louder than the goodness of God.  As a matter of fact, Christians will often say, “God is good all the time, all the time God is good!”

Is it really true that God is good all the time?  Absolutely!  However, there are times that we can lose focus of God’s goodness for many reasons, including when we are in pain, when we are in conflict, when we are depressed, when life is stressful.  It is difficult to focus on the goodness of God when things around us make His goodness seem quiet instead of loud.

One of my favorite ways of taking a picture, is to zero in on the main thing, and let there be a faded background of everything surrounding the main thing.   Are there other things in the picture?  Yes, but they are not the focus.  That is exactly how we stay focused on the goodness of God – intentionally focusing on how loud His goodness really is.

It would be easy for me to let the camera lens of my life focus on having a bad childhood growing up with a very abusive father.  It would be easy for me to focus on the loss of a son.  It would be easy for me to focus on all the ministry cancellations because of COVID 19.  My camera lens often wants to go there.    Then, I take the lens of my life and focus on the goodness of God, and His goodness is loud!

Yes, I was abused many times as a child, but because of the goodness of God, I raised three children who were loved deeply, and now have their own families who live in a loving atmosphere – only because of how loud the goodness of God is!   Yes, I lost a son, but then I look at two sons and eight wonderful grandchildren, and the goodness of God is so loud!  Yes, I had cancellations of ministry and loss of income, but because of the goodness of God, I now teach online, which I love!  I love to teach whole books of the Bible, and through online ministry, I am able to do that.  God’s goodness is so loud!   Yes, I lost income because I could no longer travel, but I have been blown away at the resources God has sent to supply every need.  It has been more than enough.  God’s goodness is loud! 

“Joseph, is goodness loud?  Yes, my dear grandson, goodness is very loud!”

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13