Is God Good?

Many are asking these days, “Is God good?” If he is good, how can there be so much suffering? As a child, I pictured God as an all-seeing eye, ready to zap me if I wasn’t good. In my child’s understanding of God, there was no goodness or kindness, just stern watchfulness waiting to punish me for wrong-doing.

A few years ago, I decided to answer this question for myself using the Bible. I discovered that there are a lot of verses that speak of the goodness of God. One of them is Psalm 119:68.

You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.

A few verses later, though, this passage made me really ponder my life.

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. Psalm 119:71

Is it possible for God to be good and for bad things to happen in our lives? Does God’s goodness change when something bad happens? I believe that all people with some knowledge of God come to a point in their lives that causes them to wrestle with these questions. For me, it was after a bad car accident. For my husband, it was learning that he has two kidney diseases.

The accident itself wasn’t good, it caused a lot of pain and loss. Because I could physically do so little, I had to choose between focusing on the bad and being depressed, or thinking more deeply on God’s word and what it meant to me. Now I am glad for what the accident brought to my life, which is a deeper understanding of God, and a greater empathy for those who live with chronic pain. I have learned to celebrate the victories in life, no matter how small they seem. I also take joy in helping others celebrate the victories in their lives.

Through difficult times, God can still bring good things to pass if we are willing to seek him. God’s goodness doesn’t change, but my perspective does change. It is up to me whether my perspective will be changed for the good or bad.

Gratitude Honors God

Recently, I restarted keeping a gratitude journal. I had been effectively ignoring a small voice for several months that kept urging me towards gratitude. A few weeks ago, I could no longer ignore that voice. Gratitude journals take work and consistency and I hadn’t been ready to do either. After all, I wasn’t ungrateful, but the fact is that I needed to be reminded of what I have to be grateful for now. There is so much that is unpleasant, uncertain, scary, and sad in our world today that I need to focus on what is good, right, and pleasant.

I started my first gratitude journal in 2011 after having been in a car accident that changed my life due to a spinal chord injury and being in a lot of pain. At that time, a dear friend shared her concern that I was becoming depressed. Since I didn’t want to deal with pain, other symptoms, and depression, I decided to go to the Bible to find some help. This passage is what first caught my attention.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21

This passage kept going over and over through my mind for months. I decided that futile thinking and darkened hearts sounded like depression. The question that I asked myself was, “Would giving thanks to God change my perspective on my life?” That’s when I started my own gratitude experiment. I started keeping a gratitude journal and studying gratitude in the Bible.

Before long, writing in my gratitude journal was one of the most peaceful times of my day. I would sit with a cup of tea in the evening before going to bed, while all was quiet, and reflect on what I had to be grateful for that day. Looking back on some of those posts make me smile today. I was grateful for the ways that my husband served me and was so considerate. There was gratitude for the growth I saw in my children. Joys were considered and celebrated. Friends were honored for their service.

As I read those posts, what stood out the most was that each day I had at least one thing that I was grateful for; who God is, his character, and how he showed his love to me. That was a real eye opener to me as I read it today. My current gratitude journal was not producing the same sense of peace. I have been completely forgetting to be thankful to God for being God!

I give thanks to you , O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify (or honor) your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. Psalms 86:12-13

The whole point of being grateful is to honor God. I will be making a course adjustment today. I will not only be thankful for the beauty and selflessness of others, but I will be thankful for the beauty and selflessness of God, for his steadfast love and deliverance.

God is our Refuge in Grief

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:5-8

We live in very unsettled times trying to navigate our way through the coronavirus. This will affect all of us in many different ways from social distancing, to school closings, working from home, to reduced wages, or loss of jobs.

Social distancing has a different meaning for me as my sister recently lost her battle with cancer. Things that we take for granted in terms of setting up a funeral service are now different. Not all of my sisters were able to attend as some states were already closing their borders. We learned of resistance to a small service by a community member who was responding out of fear. During our funeral service, all of the seats were placed at least six feet apart. This resulted in me feeling like an island of grief when all I wanted was to hold someone’s hand or give and receive hugs.

The next day, we buried her three hours away in the cemetery where our parents were buried. Afterwards, there was no family home to retreat to have a meal together. There were no restaurants open to enjoy each other’s company. But Chick-fil-A had their drive-up open and there was a large parking lot close by that was only sparsely used. We ate together in a cold and windy parking lot, told stories, and enjoyed the comfort of family for a short while. This was a treasure for my heart.

Other people will not be able to experience even what we were able to do as the virus spreads and even more actions are taken to halt the spread of this disease. We will need to be creative in reaching out to those who are grieving in order to show that we care and to show through us that God cares.

Waiting in silence before God has calmed my soul as I understand that he already knows my needs. I can pour out my heart to Him knowing that He is big enough to handle all of my concerns and sorrows. This reaffirms to me that I trust Him. He is my rock, my refuge.