The phrase “God is good” cannot be reserved for those moments when life turns out the way we had hoped.
How often do you hear people say “God is good” when something just worked out for them? How often do you say it when things are going your way? Probably quite a bit. And even if you don’t say it, I think we all think it when we feel like we just caught a break in life. The guy/girl you have you heart set on returns the feeling… the job you have been searching so hard for finally materializes… your car starts on a cold winter morning… your planes lands safely… you find a place to park at the mall in the first two slots… you score tickets to Texas-OU… you win the lottery… you win the lawsuit… you get the big client… you sell the million dollar house… you ace your final… you have standing room only at the Easter service… you have 50 kids at high school Bible Study…
Yes, in those times, God is most definitely good. And we are right to remember that and praise Him when things go well. We are right to give credit where credit is due when our lives meet or exceed our hopes. But what about the times that life disappoints us? Is God any less good when things don’t go our way? Is He any less God? Is He any less sovereign? Is He any less worthy of our praise and thanks? Does His love for us diminish in the least? Absolutely not! But how often, even if we don’t say it out loud, do we let the disappointments in life lead us to believe that things that come from God are less than good?
Scriptures tell us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8) We are told in Hebrews, chapter 6 that “God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs” (6:17) James 1:17 tells us that “every good and perfect gift is from above,” and that the “God of heavenly lights does not change like the shifting shadows” That means simply that God is good every day, and every day, God is good. God is just as good the day we get fired as the day we get hired. He is just as good the day we break up as the day we get together. He is just as good the day of a death as He is the day of a birth. There is no change in God’s goodness… there is simply a change on our circumstances, in our perspective and in our evaluation of what God has sent us, or allowed us in our sinful rebellion to experience today.
So whether today finds you well or ill, happy or sad, encouraged or discouraged, I urge you to step back and thank God for His goodness in your life. If things are good for you today, take a minute to acknowledge the source of your day and thank Him for His blessings in your life today. If things in your life are fair to partly cloudy today, take a minute to thank God for his provisions for your life today. If your life right now feels like a raging storm of disappointments, regrets, sorrows and tears, take a moment to thank God for the countless blessings that you have received today… even though it may be harder to see them in your current position. Whatever you lot in life today, whatever is on your plate and in your heart today, whether it is a smile or a frown that breaks across your face today, remember… God is Good… each day… every day… rain or shine… hot or cold…. in good times and in bad…. or better of worse… God is good.
May God continue to bless you in all that you do, and may you always be able to recognize those blessings and provisions from the never changing, always constant, immutable God that loved you enough to send His only Son to hell for you rather than spend eternity separated from you.
God is good all the time… and all the time, God is good!
God Bless,
Jon
July 17, 2001
