"The Goodness of God" - Bro. Joseph Putnam
November 30, 2025
Bro. Joseph Putnam
In this week’s POSC Podcast, Bro. Joseph D. Putnam delivers a powerful message rooted in Romans 8:28, revealing a truth believers can anchor their lives on: the unwavering goodness of God. Speaking from the perspective of someone intimately acquainted with trial, Bro. Putnam reminds us that God’s goodness is not proven by the absence of suffering—but by His faithfulness in the middle of it. Bro. Putnam walks listeners through the extraordinary hardships of Paul’s life—whippings, beatings, shipwrecks, persecution, hunger, cold, imprisonment, and relentless pressure from all sides—only to point us back to Paul’s own conclusion: “Afflicted, but not crushed… struck down, but not destroyed.” God sustained him. God delivered him. God was still good. And the same God who carried Paul carries us today. With sincerity, Scripture, and steady conviction, Bro. Putnam parallels Paul’s testimony with our own battles—broken bodies, lost loved ones, grief, mistreatment, uncertainty, unmet promises—and shows how God weaves His goodness through every chapter. Our trials don’t disqualify His goodness. They display it. When hope feels distant, His hand is present. When weakness overwhelms, His strength lifts. When pain cries loudest, His comfort speaks clearest. This episode also carries a dual call to action: If you’re in the storm—praise anyway. God moves in the middle of honest worship. If you’ve come through the storm—praise because He brought you out. Ending with a resounding echo of Psalm 150, this message shifts our posture from asking “Why me?” to declaring “God is still good.” It stirs something in the soul and demands a response: let everything that has breath praise the Lord. No clouds. No clichés. Just confidence in God’s goodness. To hear more about what God is doing in Sheboygan County and beyond, visit us at posc.church!
Episode Notes
Main Point: God’s goodness shines brightest in our darkest trials—His presence preserves us when life’s hardships try to crush us.
- Paul’s life was filled with persecution, pain, and suffering, yet he declared that “all things work together for good to them that love God.”
- Hardships—whips, stones, shipwrecks, and imprisonments—did not destroy Paul; they revealed the sustaining power of God’s goodness.
- The goodness of God is not found in the absence of trouble but in His faithfulness through it.
- Every believer will face trials, but those trials become testimonies when seen through the lens of God’s enduring grace.
- God’s goodness doesn’t mean we’ll never suffer—it means we’ll never suffer alone.
Key Scriptures:
- Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:8–9 – “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair…”
- James 1:2–4 – “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
- Psalm 145:9 – “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”
- Psalm 150:6 – “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.”
Major Themes:
- God’s Goodness Through Pain: Paul’s whippings, stonings, and shipwrecks didn’t stop God’s plan—they proved His strength.
- Faith in the Fire: Like Job and Jesus, believers endure trials not to destroy faith but to refine it.
- Purpose in the Pain: Every hardship becomes part of God’s redemptive plan for those who love Him.
- Praise in the Prison: Paul and Silas praised God in the darkest cell—worship invites breakthrough.
- Testimonies of Grace: God’s people today still stand as living examples of His goodness in every circumstance.
Reflection Questions:
- How have I seen God’s goodness in the midst of personal suffering?
- Do I praise God only after deliverance—or even while waiting for it?
- How can my story become a testimony of endurance and faith for others?
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