Is God Good?

Social media can be a very good outlet for those of us who live in a cave. It’s good to hear other people’s point of view and even though it’s long distance you can connect with others. But there’s some things nagging at me that I’ve seen on Facebook the last few weeks. On one hand, they are very good and encouraging; but on the other it’s raised some questions in my mind about how we interpret the goodness of God.

You know I am the caregiver for an adult son who was seriously injured in an automobile accident nearly 7 years ago. I see posts of wrecks and how other’s loved ones narrowly escaped serious injury. There are many times when people are sharing that they are so thankful because it could have been a lot worse.  They thank God for saving their loved one; and they should! But then they cap it off with something like “God is good!” And of course, He is. But would He still be good had your loved one suffered a TBI like my son? Would He still be good if your loved one perished as in so many other cases?

My good friend used this phrase the other day after her friend had undergone a successful surgery. It was  a very serious situation and her friend could have easily been damaged for life. Surgeons were able to perform a very complicated surgery without leaving lasting effects. She was elated – and she should be! She texted me back – “God is good!” To which I texted her back – God is good when it doesn’t go well too!…just sayin’

This morning I saw another post giving thanks (and they should!) for someone who had been sick and it didn’t last as long as typical cases of this particular disease. They were so thankful it was over – and I was too. Who wants to see people suffer? No one. They finished it off with God loves us! I was like – does He not love us when the sickness endures for longer periods of time? Would they have randomly posted that God loved us just because if they were still suffering?

I’ve come to this conclusion – God is either good – or He isn’t. He either loves us or He doesn’t and neither of these can be measured by what we face each day. Was God any less good when He didn’t spare our heroes of faith? Stephen was stoned to death with no escape, Job became very ill and lost everything (you cannot replace children!), Elisha became ill and died was God still good then? And He did not spare Christ from going to the cross….does that make Him any less good?

While I rejoice with others who are spared journeys similar to mine – I must say that God is no less good when things don’t turn out like we prefer. He doesn’t love us any less when life takes a rough turn, or we lose. I will be the first to tell you that I’ve had an attitude about this. When my son was first injured I honestly expected God to come riding in on a white horse and rescue us, spare us from such a painful situation. As time went on He didn’t show up like I thought He would. I took on an attitude (a bad one). One that said, I served You and Your people all these years and You were supposed to protect us!  I cried, pleaded, cussed and yelled at God many times over the last 7 years. He calmly waited for me to settle down and come back to Him so He could demonstrate His love to me and through me. But He didn’t make it all go away. And you know what? He’s still good.

His goodness and His love does not spare us from tough situations. He loves us whether or not our loved ones are injured or killed in automobile accidents. He loves us and His goodness endures even through the roughest of situations. We cannot use what we are going through as a measure of how much He loves us. He just loves us.

In Psalm 23, David says that goodness and mercy would follow him all the days of his life. Have you read about his life? Yes, he slew a great giant, yes he became king. But he also spent years running from Saul who had evil intent. He lost a son too. Yet he continued to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. What about Joseph? He spent years patiently waiting for God’s promise. Was God any less good those years he sat in a prison cell for something he didn’t even do? Was God any less good or less loving when his brothers sold him into slavery out of spite?

God is good – even in the deepest, darkest dungeons of life. God is good when our loved ones are spared from tragic accidents or serious injury. But He is just as good when they are not.