He is Good, Regardless

There's a particular line in a song that's been playing over and over in my head since last night:

You are good. Lord, You are good. And I am in wonder how could it be? Lord, You are good. You are so good. In so many ways You've been good to me. If suddenly it all were ended and the blessings disappeared. Looking back over a lifetime, the evidence is clear. It's so clear. You have been good.

God is indeed, good. Scripture says it repeatedly. The Psalmist says in Ps. 145:7-9, They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,and shall sing of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are overall His works. And in Jeremiah 31:14, God testifies of His own goodness: "I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness," says the Lord.

So, the question is - what happens to God's goodness when circumstances in our lives seem to point in a different direction? What happens to His goodness when loved ones die unexpectedly, when children suffer, when depression just won't go away? What happens to God's goodness then?

Nothing, absolutely nothing. He is good, regardless.

How do I know? How can I testify of His goodness? He's proven it to me. I remember a specific time in my life when everything around me seemed to scream, "God is not good! He is cruel!" During that time, I remember putting my kids down for their naps in the afternoon and burying my face in the carpet, begging God to show me His goodness, because I couldn't see it. I wanted proof of His goodness...of His love towards me. To make a long story short...He gave me the proof I needed. He showed me that He was good, regardless.

But don't just take it from me, take it from someone who seemingly had every right to believe in the "notgoodness" of God - Job. He lost everything. He lost his family, his possessions, his health, his friends, AND YET, when God finally spoke with Job in chapter 42, Job testified of - guess what - God's goodness:
I know that You can do everything and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

You would think that after everything he went through, Job would shake his fist at God and proclaim Him to be cruel. Yet, he testified that God's plans for his life were too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Now, let me just go ahead and add here that I'm not saying God DID all of those things to Job just to make him suffer. The suffering came from Satan. You see, Satan told God that the only reason Job loved Him was because he was blessed. He was confident Job's faith would falter, if God would let him make Job's life miserable. God, being confident in His servant, allowed Satan to test Job. So, Satan made Job suffer - ultimately for our benefit. If Job's life had been one of ease and comfort, I doubt we would have ever heard much from him. And yet, his life of overcoming suffering speaks hope to our hearts, assuring us of the goodness of God.

But how do we make that real for us? How do we believe in the goodness of God in the midst of our own suffering? It's so simple, but so hard to do: trust Him. We've got to trust that God is good, no matter what our circumstances tell us. We've got to stay in His Word and on our faces before Him. We've got to speak those words back to Him in prayer - God, You are good, despite what my circumstances say, You are good. We've got to speak it out loud to ourselves. Walk around the house or the office or the grocery story - anywhere and everywhere the threat of doubt hits us, we've got to immediately replace those negative thoughts and say out loud (or whisper, if need be!!!), God, You are good, regardless.

Dear Lord, Satan would love to do nothing more than make us think that You are a liar and that we cannot trust Your Word. But the exact opposite is true. He is the liar, Lord. Deal with him and his lies to us. Thank You that You are good. We are living testimonies to that fact. Give us strength as we work it out in the midst of life, Lord. We thank You and praise You for the things You are doing that seem hard for us, for we know that You are working them altogether for our good. We praise You for Your goodness, Lord. We praise You.