TODAY’S BEHOLD
Abundant in Goodness and Truth
By Edward and Cynthia Best
Be Still
There are moments when our failure makes us wonder what we will find when we turn again toward God. Will He receive us? Will His holiness leave any room for mercy? At Sinai, the Lord does not leave Moses—or us—to invent an answer. He proclaims His own name and reveals His own heart.
“The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”
Exodus 34:6, KJV
Behold Him
These words are spoken after Israel’s sin with the golden calf. The first tablets had been broken, Moses had interceded for the people, and the Lord called him back up the mountain with two new tablets of stone. Then the Lord descended in the cloud, stood with Moses, and proclaimed His name.
The scene is holy, but it is not cold. God describes Himself as merciful and gracious. He is longsuffering—patient beyond our hurried measure. He is not merely good; He is abundant in goodness. He is not uncertain or shifting; He is abundant in truth.
Moses responds by bowing his head toward the earth and worshiping. When God reveals His heart, the fitting answer is not argument or performance. It is wonder, surrender, and worship.
What Does This Reveal About God’s Heart?
God wants to be known as He truly is. He does not ask us to build our understanding of Him from fear, disappointment, or human inconsistency. He speaks for Himself.
His mercy is not reluctant. His grace is not thin. His patience is not quickly exhausted, and His goodness is not a small portion that must be earned. He is abundant.
Yet His goodness and truth remain together. The verses that follow also speak of forgiveness and justice. God does not call darkness light, and He does not heal us by pretending sin has no weight. His mercy is holy mercy. His truth is held within the heart of the One who is merciful and gracious.
Beholding Christ
In Yeshua, we behold this same fullness shining near. He came full of grace and truth. He did not set truth aside in order to welcome sinners, nor did He withhold grace in order to remain holy. At the cross, sin was not ignored; it was borne. Mercy was not weakened; it was poured out.
When we come to Him in repentance, we are not stepping toward an unknown heart. We are coming to the One who has already made Himself known—merciful, gracious, patient, overflowing with goodness, and completely true.
Worshipful Prayer
Abba Father, thank You for revealing Your heart. When fear tries to describe You differently, bring us back to Your own words. You are merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Lead us into honest repentance without hiding and into quiet worship without striving. Teach us to receive Your mercy without treating sin lightly, and to love Your truth without forgetting Your tenderness.
Let the beauty of who You are steady our hearts today. May Your goodness draw us nearer, Your truth make us whole, and Your grace shape the way we walk with others.
In Yeshua’s holy and beautiful name, Amen.
My Stone of Remembrance
I do not have to guess the heart of God; He has proclaimed it—merciful, gracious, and abundant in goodness and truth.