I have a love-hate relationship with the phrase “God is good.”
I believe God is good, and I believe it’s important to acknowledge His goodness. But sometimes I hesitate to say, “God is good.”
When something fantastic happens and I respond with “God is so good,” is there an unspoken implication that if it had gone the other way, He wouldn’t be good? Or He wouldn’t be as good? Or He wouldn’t be as good in this situation?
This unspoken implication exists because we don’t typically proclaim God’s goodness when sharing bad news. When was the last time you saw a Facebook status that said, “Devastated by the news I didn’t get the job – God is sooooo good! #Blessed”
I hesitate to say “God is good” when I’m celebrating because I know I might not say it if I was grieving. Confessing God’s goodness isn’t my knee-jerk reaction on bad days. I may be aware of His comfort and peace, but His goodness doesn’t dominate my thoughts about God in those moments. Maybe you feel the same way?
And yet, God is good. All the time. In all circumstances, God deals with His children according to His unwavering goodness and steadfast love. We can proclaim His goodness with our happy news as well as our disappointments. When we suffer, His goodness is just as true. And we need to be reminded of His goodness even more in hardship than in good times.
I want to be like the generations of God’s people described by the psalmist in Psalm 145:7: “They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.”
I’m going on the record right now: God is good all the time. When good things happen, I’ll pour forth the fame of His abundant goodness to me, and simply say, “God is good.”
Because saying “God is good, but let’s all be clear on the fact that He is good even when the bad things happen” . . . well, that’s just awkward.
No matter what you face this week, God is abundantly good to you.
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