The Goodness of God

It’s easy to believe that God is good when our lives are going well. But it’s difficult to believe that when we struggle with insecurity, inadequacy, and uncertainty. We may also struggle with depression, anxiety or unexpected losses. To add to all these, we can feel helpless for ourselves and our loved ones as we experience injustices in our lives and in the world.     

How can God be good in the midst of all these challenges? How can we trust in his goodness when it seems that our prayers go unanswered?   

Welcome God into Your Suffering   

My biggest struggle has been my unanswered prayers for a husband and children. It was so hard to see God provide for others but not me. Countless times I was honest about my pain and disappointment. I thought, It’s so easy for others to get married, but why won’t God answer my prayers for a husband and children?    

God understands and goes deep with us in our suffering. If we include him, we will find joy and experience his love and goodness. One of the most joyful times of worship and dancing I experienced was in South Africa with people who were experiencing extreme suffering economically, socially, and politically but they had the greatest joy I ever saw because they knew God’s love in the midst of their suffering.    

I also remember meeting privately in China with those who were imprisoned and tortured for their faith by the state. Their faces were radiant as they testified with joy that they experienced God’s faithfulness even while suffering.  

God never left them, just as he never left me in my sin and weakness. He has been with me in every situation, especially in times of darkness and suffering.    

I just celebrated my 70th birthday as a single woman. But God has given me a family that spans many cities, and I am experiencing abundant love and joy. Isaiah 54:1 talks about the childless woman having more children than the woman who lives with her husband. I am overwhelmed by God’s love and goodness. The words of the song “Goodness of God” ring so true for me: All my life he has been faithful/ all my life he has been so so good/ With every breath that I am able/ I will sing of the goodness of God.  

God has given me meaning, purpose, and an abundance of close friends and spiritual family of all ages. 

God is Always Good 

Scripture teaches us that God is good; His character does not change. God is good even when it is not clear and plain to us.    

Psalm 23 talks about God meeting all of our needs, bringing us peace, strength, and guidance. Even in the darkest times, we don’t need to fear because he is with us and his mercy and goodness will follow us all the days of our lives.   

Psalms 27:13-14 says, “Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”   

In Lamentations 3:21-23, as the writer suffers, he writes: “Yet I dare to hope when I remember this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”   

I find the story of Corrie ten Boom especially encouraging. After being arrested for helping Jewish people escape the holocaust, she suffered in a concentration camp. Ten Boom clung to God and her faith during this time. “There is no darkness that his love is not deeper still,” she said. 

In difficult times, we can know that God is with us and will provide what we need. He is our hope and solid rock in this unstable world. 

Trust God as You Face Challenges   

What is blocking you from knowing that God is good? Perhaps you are going through rough times with family or friends, or you face uncertainty about your future. Maybe the pressures of your deadlines and assignments are too overwhelming. Whatever it may be, bring all your challenges to God. Remember that God invites us to be honest with him, to come to him with our darkest feelings and thoughts. 

We can trust that God is always loving, faithful, powerful, and good. These words from Ephesians give me great comfort when I struggle to see that: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Eph 3:20).