Summer in the Psalms - Week 8: “When I Need God's Goodness”

Jul 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Seeing Beyond the Dark Spot: God’s Goodness Surrounds

Human eyes instinctively fixate on life’s “dark spots”—pain, lack, or loss. Yet Scripture invites us to shift focus toward the vast goodness framing every hardship. Just as a tiny black dot disappears against a white page, God’s steadfast love outshines temporary struggles. Gratitude flourishes when we name His daily gifts: breath, beauty, relationships, provision. The psalmist declares even desert wanderers find streams when they cry out. What seems overwhelming today is surrounded by His unchanging grace. [52:38]

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “dark spot” dominates your vision right now? Name three specific good things framing it—how might gratitude shift your perspective?

Day 2: The Soundtrack of Steadfast Love: Singing God’s Goodness

Israel’s survival through exile was sustained by a repeated chorus: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” This refrain anchored them in ruins, reminding them their story was shaped by God’s character, not their circumstances. Like a movie soundtrack, rehearsing truth rewires our focus. Singing God’s goodness—aloud, in community, over decades—builds resilience. When life’s volume drowns hope, hum the melody of His faithfulness. [45:00]

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble. (Psalm 107:1–2, ESV)

Reflection: What old hymn or worship song reminds you of God’s goodness? How could intentionally singing it this week renew your heart?

Day 3: Redeemed to Testify: Declaring God’s Rescue

God doesn’t just free us from captivity—He commands us to “say so.” Testimony isn’t optional; it’s how light pierces others’ darkness. The Hebrew word for “redeemed” (gaal) means buying back what was lost, like recovering a family heirloom. Our stories of rescue—from addiction, despair, or shame—prove God still pays debts we can’t afford. Silence robs the world of hope; your voice carries proof He’s good. [48:57]

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1, 3, ESV)

Reflection: When has someone’s redemption story strengthened your faith? What part of your journey could encourage others if you shared it?

Day 4: Soul Hunger and the Feast of Goodness

Modern life offers endless distractions but no lasting satisfaction. The psalmist links our deepest hunger to God’s “good things”—not material comforts, but Himself. The Hebrew tov (good) implies beauty, pleasure, and wholeness—qualities found only in Christ. Like rich food for a starved body, His presence nourishes what productivity, screens, or shopping cannot. Our souls wither when we settle for scraps; He invites us to feast. [55:19]

For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:9, ESV)

Reflection: What empty “snack” have you been chasing instead of sitting at God’s table? How might you carve out space to savor Him today?

Day 5: Deserts into Pools: Trusting the God of Reversals

Brokenness isn’t the end—it’s raw material for God’s miracles. The same hands that formed galaxies can reshape your wasteland. Psalm 107’s exiles saw rubble; God saw a canvas for redemption. His reversals aren’t quick fixes but masterpieces requiring time and trust. What if your pain is soil for resurrection? The cross proves He specializes in turning dead ends into new beginnings. [01:05:59]

He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in. (Psalm 107:35–36, ESV)

Reflection: What situation feels irreversible to you? How might praying “God, show me Your power to redeem this” shift your posture?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 107 sets the soundtrack that frames the whole story: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. The text locates gratitude in God’s character, not in fluctuating circumstances. God’s own goodness stands as the source and standard of all that is good, as Jesus affirms and as the psalmist celebrates. As faith grows, the vision of God grows, like Lucy learning Aslan is bigger because she has grown; so a maturing disciple finds God’s goodness bigger in the very places that feel least good.

The psalm sings this goodness into ruins. Returned exiles stand in a city that looks and smells like loss, yet the refrain commands: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. The imperative is vocal. Those bought back are to testify publicly to steadfast love. The psalm then sketches four hard scenes where the goodness of God breaks in: wanderers in deserts, prisoners in darkness, fools wasting away, sailors undone by storms. In each scene, a cry rises, a rescue arrives, and the chorus returns, urging thanks for wondrous works.

A simple image resets the gaze: the dark spot on a white page. Human eyes rush to the spot, but the page is mostly bright. The psalm trains the church to stop interpreting the goodness of God through the worst thing happening, and to start interpreting the worst thing through the goodness of God. The soul longs, and only God satisfies with tov, the beautiful, pleasant, excellent good that runs from creation like an inexhaustible river. Senses, flavors, colors, rest, friendships, work that matters, even a baby’s scent at the right time, arrive as splashes of divine kindness in a broken world.

Thanksgiving therefore becomes more than a mood; it becomes a sacrifice in the rubble. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy. Those who notice providences keep finding providences to notice. Then the psalm shows God’s signature move: reversal. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs. Scripture-wide, God often does not prevent every bad thing; he makes good out of the bad, so thoroughly that the final good is better than if the bad had never been. The cross stands as the great reversal of all reversals. On it, God dealt with Jesus according to human badness so that, in Christ, he could deal with believers according to Jesus’ goodness. Wisdom, then, is to attend to these things and consider the steadfast love of the Lord, practicing daily thanks inside the hard place, and letting gratitude pull the gaze from the dark spot to the goodness of God.

Key Takeaways

1. God is always, not sometimes, good. God’s goodness is not a mood swing or a response to human performance. Scripture anchors goodness in God’s own unchanging nature, which means trust is rational even when life is chaotic. Gratitude that starts with who God is can withstand what life does. [37:32]
2. Notice the dark spot, then look around. Honesty looks straight at the hard thing, but wisdom refuses tunnel vision. Around the spot is often a field of mercies that do not cancel the pain but keep it from telling the whole story. Training the eyes to notice providences becomes a habit that multiplies hope. [52:38]
3. Let the redeemed say so, out loud. Testimony is commanded, not suggested, because grace wants a voice. Speaking thanks in the ruins reorients the heart and strengthens the church that overhears it. Sacrifices of thanksgiving carve altars in places that still feel like ash. [47:30]
4. God makes reversals that outlast the storm. The God who turns deserts into pools does not merely soothe; he remakes. Trust, prayer, and obedience position troubled lives under his skillful hand, where even losses can become seedbeds of future good. The deepest proof is the cross, where judgment birthed salvation. [65:59]
5. Only God satisfies the soul with good. Human souls do not live on circumstances or people; they live on God. The tov he gives is beautiful and excellent, meeting longings that stuff and status cannot touch. Receiving daily splashes of goodness turns survival into worship. [54:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:53] - Summer in the Psalms; God is good
[33:44] - The God-lens: growing vision of God
[34:24] - Aslan and a bigger view
[35:39] - Big idea: God good in bad times
[39:54] - Psalm 107 context and four scenes
[41:50] - Cry, deliverance, and satisfied souls
[45:00] - Israel’s soundtrack: steadfast love endures
[47:30] - Let the redeemed say so
[52:38] - The dark spot: shift your focus
[54:58] - God gives good to hungry souls
[59:29] - Thanksgiving as sacrifice in hard places
[64:50] - God’s great reversals; Romans 8:28
[69:03] - The cross as the ultimate reversal
[72:55] - Practice of daily thanks, prayer, and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Psalm 107:1-9 (ESV)
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Observation Questions

What four difficult scenes does Psalm 107 describe (e.g., wanderers, prisoners, etc.)? How does God respond in each situation?
What repeated command does Psalm 107:1-2 give to those who have been redeemed?
How does the sermon describe the analogy of the "dark spot on a white page" and its connection to gratitude? [52:38]
According to the psalm, what specific actions does God take to reverse difficult circumstances (e.g., turning deserts into pools)?

Interpretation Questions

Why is God’s goodness described as rooted in His unchanging character rather than circumstances? How does this affect how we trust Him?
The sermon says, "God doesn’t prevent every bad thing; he makes good out of the bad." How does Romans 8:28 support this idea?
What does the "dark spot" analogy reveal about human tendencies? How might shifting focus from the "spot" to God’s goodness change our perspective? [54:21]
How does the cross represent the "ultimate reversal" of bad circumstances, as mentioned in the sermon? [01:09:03]

Application Questions

Identify a current "dark spot" in your life. What are three specific "splashes of goodness" (e.g., relationships, provision, beauty) you can intentionally notice around it this week? [56:21]
The psalm commands the redeemed to "say so" (v. 2). When was the last time you shared a testimony of God’s goodness in a hard situation? Who could you encourage this week by doing so?
The sermon suggests practicing daily gratitude even in "rubble." What practical step could you take to vocalize thanks to God daily (e.g., journaling, prayer walks, sharing with a friend)?
How might trusting God’s "reversals" (like turning deserts into pools) change how you pray about a situation that feels hopeless?
The sermon says, "Human souls live on God, not circumstances." What habits could help you feed your soul on His goodness rather than external conditions? [54:58]
Reflect on a past trial where God brought good from bad. How does that memory strengthen your trust in His character today?

Sermon Clips

64s

#GoodNewsInChrist

“``So here's the good news, The goodness of God is not a theological category. It's not a proposition. It's not a statement. It's not just a truth. They aren't just words. The goodness of God came into this world as a person when God sent his only son, Jesus, into this world. And friends, the greatest reversal, the reversal that reverses all reversals is the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus, the sinless son of God who knew no sin, he took all of our sins upon himself. In other words, on the cross, God dealt with Jesus according to all of our badness so that in Christ, he could deal with us according to all of Jesus' goodness. What a great reversal Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. So listen. Great news. If you belong to Jesus, you don't have to be perfect because Jesus already is on your behalf.”

58s

#GodMakesGood

“I just gotta be honest with you, friends. I think one of the biggest obstacles to experiencing and knowing the goodness of God is knowing our own badness. We look at our own selves and we're so disappointed in what we see, and we feel like God must be the same way, but he's not. We look at our own lives and all we see is a bunch of mistakes, and we feel like God must see us the same way he does not. So what is God really like? He's he's a good God. He's not only a good God. He's a God of steadfast love. There's that word again. So friends, because God is all powerful, he is able to make good out of the bad that we go through. But because he's all good, he's willing to reverse the bad that we experience if we entrust ourselves to him.”

49s

#ChurchFamilySupport

“The whole story is a good God loves you, and he's provided all kinds of good around that dark spot. And I would say this, part of that good is a church family of people. If they only knew about that dark spot, they would love you in it, and walk with you, and support you, and pray for you. In fact, as we close our time in just a little bit, we're gonna find an opportunity for you to take that little dark spot or whatever God has spoken to you about today and have someone pray with you today. Now the reality is, friends, our human tendency is to view the goodness of God through the worst thing happening to us. And Psalm one zero seven urges us to do it the other way around, to to view the things that are happening to us through the goodness of God.”

57s

#RememberGodsGoodness

“forget stuff. You forget stuff. We all forget stuff. Now here's the sad reality. All too often, we forget how good God is. And so God's people had a soundtrack to remind them, to remember over and over. Lest they forget, lest their children forget, lest their children's children forget. It's a soundtrack. And so Psalm one zero seven verse one is repeated, get this, 45 different times throughout the Old Testament. 45 different times it's repeated verbatim, in 10 scenarios, over a five hundred and forty year period of time beginning with king David all the way to Ezra three eleven. In other words, the story listen, the story you're living in isn't about badness. It's about the goodness of God in the midst of a broken world.”

63s

#RedeemedDeclare

“from the Hebrew Gaal. It means to buy back a relative who's been enslaved or into servitude. And here, God is the one who acts to buy his people back from their captivity to their enemies. And so they are thus redeemed, liberated from where they were brought back into God's goodness and favor. And so here we see the redeemed. So what are the redeemed supposed to do about this? Well, the text says that the redeemed of the Lord are to say so. The redeemed of the Lord say so. Here, my friends, in the Hebrew, it's it's an imperative. This is a command. Here is a command from God to his redeemed people to give public testimony for his goodness, to give public and verbal and vocal testimony for the fact that he is good. So God's people are commanded, the redeemed of the Lord are commanded to say so.”

77s

#GoodInHardTimes

“remember the context. God's people were coming home after seventy years of captivity. Everything they looked at was broken and burnt down and in ruins, and God still was working wonders even in those circumstances. In fact, let's do this. Let's zoom out. Let's look at the whole psalm, and let's look at the conditions in which they experience the goodness of God. Here they are of condition number one. When you feel lost, verses four through nine, wandering in a desert, God's like, I'm still good. I'm still with you. Wow. What other conditions in the circumstances? When you feel trapped, verses 10 through 16. How else do they experience God's wonders and his goodness in those bad circumstances? How about when you're weak? Verses 17 through 22. And then lastly, how about when you're anxiety ridden? Verse 23 to 32. So let me ask you, do any of these look like the dark spot in your life? Because that's not the whole story.”

54s

#ThanksForGodsGoodness

“Remember the context. God's people are returning from captivity. They've been gone for seven decades. When they left, their city was in ruins. They came home and everything they saw looked bad, felt bad. It was all broken down in ruins. they went into those ruins with a song playing in their head. And the song was, we'll give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His steadfast love endures forever. So friends, even when everything seems bad, God is still good. And the first truth we gotta hang on to is is that God is always good. The second truth, you can write this one down, God always gives good. He always gives good.”

37s

#GrowInViewOfGod

“So let me ask you a question, my friends. Are you growing in your face? Are you growing in your relationship with God? Are you growing as a Christian? Well, answer will be yes if you are growing in your view of God. If your view of God is growing. And listen, not just your view of God in general, your view of God very specifically. Your view of the goodness of God in the midst of what is not so good.”

50s

#DesertsToSprings

“And here's the God of reversals. Notice this word make. He he he turns a desert, that's the word turn in Hebrew literally means to make, to make. He makes a desert, sounds pretty bad, into a pool. That sounds pretty good. A parched land, that doesn't sound good, springs. That sounds very good. imagine how this sounded to God's people returning from exile. Imagine how this sounded as they looked around and their city is in ruins. Imagine how this looked to a people who all they could see and feel was loss, grief, and sadness. Here's how it sounded. Sounded too good to be true.”

43s

#GodTheHighestGood

“for all the good we do experience in life, so often it's it's the not so good. It's the bad stuff that affects us the most. Now listen, friends, it is here. It is here that we develop a bigger view of the goodness of God right over here. Theologians refer to God as the the highest good. In other words, God is the source. God is the standard of all that is good. And so as we open the scriptures, the goodness of God is taught or implied on every single page of scripture from the first page to the very final page.”

53s

#FourScenesOfGoodness

“Psalm one zero seven is 43 verses. We're gonna study all 43 verses for no. But there are four major scenes that we see the goodness of God play out that are not good. I'll I'll summarize them very quickly. The first scene is verses four through nine, trapped in prison, God is still good. Then we see verses 10 through 16. I'm sorry. Wandering in the desert, verses four through nine, we can see the goodness of God there. Trapped in prison, verses 10 through 16, God's goodness can meet us there. If you're withering in sickness, God's goodness can meet you there, verses 17 to 22. If you're terrified in storms, God's goodness can meet you there, verse 23 to 32. So in the Psalm, we learn to recognize the goodness of God, even experience the goodness of God in what are not good circumstances.”

45s

#GrowBySeeingGod

“Friends, here's a living example of the biblical truth that's been passed down to the faithful people of God generation after generation after generation. Here it is. Even when everything seems bad, God is still good. So I wanna ask you, are you growing as a Christian? Are you growing in your faith? Only if your view of God is growing. in order to develop a bigger view of God, we must develop a bigger view of the goodness of God in the midst of not so good circumstances. So how do we do that?”

75s

#ShiftFocusFromDark

“It's interesting though that you've got like literally a thousand times more white space than you have black spot. Yet, where do our eyes instantly go? Our focus instantly goes to the dark spot. Now think about your life right now. What dark spot has got your focus right now? Some of you might be a financial dark spot. Bills are piling up, everything's more expensive, job ain't really even working out. For some of you, that dark spot might be emotional. Just the world in your head, your inner life is not great. Some of you, your your dark spot might be medical. For some of you, your your dark spot might be relational. Marriage isn't going well. Parents are friendship's broken. I mean, for some of it, maybe your dark spot might be an addiction. Now the reality is you you automatically your focus and life just goes right to the dark spot so much so you have a hard time seeing all that's not the dark spot, all that's actually quite bright all around it.”

50s

#SavorGodsGoodness

“So let's get a little reminder to turn on your imagination for just a moment and consider for a moment, consider your senses. God gave us senses. He gave us eyes to behold beauty, to hear the sound of nature, music, nostrils to enjoy aromas, fragrances, taste buds to enjoy flavor, touch to feel, a mind to appreciate truth and goodness and beauty. Why? Didn't have to do that. Why? Because of his goodness. Now let's consider even further, not just our senses. Let's consider our experiences. God not only gave us these senses, but he gave us the means to gratify them. From his goodness, we experience flavors.”

44s

#GenerationalSoundtrack

“Music refires our memory. Now here's what you need to know. Here's what you need to know. A soundtrack doesn't just accompany the story. It pulls you into the story. It takes that story with you. Soundtracks are really, really powerful. Did you know that God's Old Testament people, Israel, have a soundtrack to the story of their relationship with God. This soundtrack was passed down to every single generation. This soundtrack was sung and re sung on 10 different occasions spanning a history of five hundred and forty years.”

80s

#GodsReversal

“In other words, the little black dot, the dark spot, that's not the whole story, my friends. It's real. It's not good. It doesn't feel good. But shift your eyes and look around, and you will see a good God is still good, providing good things. Even when everything seems bad, God is still good. God always he's always good. God always gives good. And thirdly and very quickly, God always makes good. He always makes good. Let me see your hand if you're familiar with this term, a reversal of fortune. Are you familiar with that term? You ever heard that before? In the literary world, a reversal of fortune is when a story goes from bad to good. When the things that are bad become actually good. All through the scriptures, see God turn that which is not good into that which is good. In fact, we're gonna talk about that again on the podcast this week. Listen. I'm just gonna say this. If you're a student of the Bible, all you gotta do is read through it and you will realize, God doesn't prevent bad things. God brings ultimately good things from bad things so good that it'd be better than if the bad thing never happened.”

76s

#DailyGratitudePractice

“Well, here's a practice. Each week in our summer in the Psalms, we take a practice into our week ahead, whether on vacation or home. We all are on the same practice. Here's our practice. Why not begin each day thanking God for, let's say, three specific things? And wouldn't it be great if one of those was especially related to difficult circumstances you're going through? So for example, let's say you're having a conflict in your marriage. Thank God for your spouse. Thank you, Lord, that I have one. If your dark spot maybe is a health issue, you know what? Thank you, Lord, I still have some time. I'm still here now. I still have purpose. Maybe it's a financial whatever your dark spot is, maybe that job's not great, but you have one. There's always something to be thankful for, my friends. Because when everything seems bad, that's not the story we're living in. We are living in a story that a good God, he's still good, and he still gives good, and he will make good out of everything we go through as we walk, trust, and honor him in it all. Would you pray with me? Our father, we thank you that you are a good God.”

84s

#GodIsKindAndGenerous

“Well, I put together a definition for you summing up really a lot of what the Bible would say about that. So here's basically the definition. God is good means that God's essential nature and unchanging character is to be kind and generous always. Therefore, God is to be loved and trusted always. So if you've ever wondered, like, what kind of person is God really? The answer is God is a good God. God is so good he can be trusted. God is so good he can be loved for who he is. Now here's the reality. Due to all the bad that we see in this life, due to all the bad that we experience in this life, many of us, we we we come to become suspicious of God, even distrusting of the goodness of God because of all the bad that we experience. In fact, this week in our podcast, we're gonna talk about that. Here at Von Force, we have a podcast called the other six. And so this week, we're gonna dive in a little bit more about if if God's so good, why is there bad? And if there is bad, why? He could just prevent it. We're gonna talk about that on the podcast this week. But the truth is friends, all that we see, all that we experience in this life will be distorted if not viewed through this lens.”

47s

#GodIsGoodEvenThen

“That's what we're gonna see today, my friends, in Psalm one zero seven. So if you're a notetaker, here's our big idea we're gonna see in this passage today. Here it is. Even when everything seems bad, God is still good. Even when everything seems bad, God is still good. Now true or false, I need to hear your voice. Life has a lot of good and a lot of bad. True or false? I mean, it's true. And let's just be honest though, with relatively few exceptions, we have far more good experiences in life, to be honest with you, than we have bad experiences in life. The number of our healthy days in life far outnumber our days of sickness and our days of pain.”

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Summer in the Psalms - Week 8: “When I Need God's Goodness”

Devotional

Day 1: Seeing Beyond the Dark Spot: God’s Goodness Surrounds

Day 2: The Soundtrack of Steadfast Love: Singing God’s Goodness

Day 3: Redeemed to Testify: Declaring God’s Rescue

Day 4: Soul Hunger and the Feast of Goodness

Day 5: Deserts into Pools: Trusting the God of Reversals

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Summer in the Psalms - Week 8: “When I Need God's Goodness”

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