God is Good ... Isn't He?

A certain type of post shows up on FaceBook fairly often, and these posts bother me just a little bit. I’m sure you’ve seen them –you may have even written a few of them. I’m talking about posts that say things like:

• “We just bought a new house ---God is so good!”
• “I just landed my dream job ---I am so blessed!”
• “My children are perfect ---God is good!”
• “We are all in perfect health –God is blessing us!”

Don’t get me wrong –we should certainly thank God for the blessings that He pours into our lives. I am not saying that we shouldn't thank Him. However, what does this say to the person who is not able to get a house or land a good job, the person whose health is failing, or those whose children are not perfect? Is God not good to them?

What do we actually mean when we say God is “good”? Are we describing His character or do we mean that He has given us things that we want? If God is truly good, then He is good all the time, not just when He blesses us physically or financially. Why don’t we ever read posts that say:

• “I just lost my job ---God is so good!”
• “We were just evicted from our house ---we are so blessed!”
• “Right now, life is a huge struggle and I am depressed –God is so good!”
• “My child/spouse is back in the hospital facing a potentially fatal illness ---what a blessing from our good God!”

Psalm 84:11 says “the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Does this mean that if He has not blessed me with the material things I want or need that I am not obeying Him?

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” If He promises to give us everything we need, and He always keeps His promises, could it be that we have a different understanding of what we need than God does?

Our American version of Christianity tends to communicate we need a beautiful house in the suburbs, two cars, a college education, a fulfilling career, perfect children, perfect health, and the ability to take the family to Disney World every few years. Are these types of blessings the only ones that show us that God is good?

Hebrews chapter 11 describes the great faith of many heroes of the Old Testament. While we would say some of them are “blessed” because they experienced victory through their faith (verses 33-34), the writer describes others who never experienced victory and yet lived by faith.

“Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated –the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Heb 11:35-40).

While we would not describe people in these conditions as blessed, the writer of Hebrews does. I wonder how this passage might read if it were written today?

“Some faced cancer, lawsuits, ridicule, discrimination, and wrongful imprisonment. They faced beheadings, were misunderstood, and were persecuted by world governments. They went about in second-hand clothes and rags, living in old houses, the projects, and cardboard boxes. These were all commended by faith…”

Is our view of God’s goodness dependent upon the state of our finances and our physical blessings? Do we tend to buy into the mindset of Job’s three friends –that if we are not blessed physically and financially that we must be living a sinful life and are being punished by God? What if we posted our joy over blessings like:

• Jesus laid down His life to pay for my sin debt, and I am forgiven –God is so good!
• The King of heaven has adopted me into His family and I will live with Him forever ---God is so good!

Or maybe some of us need to be reminded that:

• Life can be an extremely disappointing struggle –but God is still good.
• I don’t know how I am going to make it through my current struggles –but I trust God because I know He is good and He is faithful.
• My child/spouse/parent will most likely not survive this latest illness –but God is still good and He still loves us and is there for us.

When in the midst of struggles, we shouldn’t ask, “God is good…isn’t He?” but instead, we should proclaim, “God is good, isn’t He!” It can be very difficult to turn that question into a declaration.

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Ps 100:5).