I've been contemplating this topic and these thoughts for a while now. Blogger Beware: Deep Thoughts Ahead! This will be the second installment in the Blessings Series. You can see the first installment here.
If you do not feel like a theological or philosophical subject for your blogging pleasure, then go ahead and scoot on to your next favorite site. Cuz I'm gonna pick your brain.
So, here's what I'm thinking about.
I've heard many times lately (on blogs, at prayer meetings, on the Internet, out of peoples' mouths, etc...) the exclamation, "God is so good!"
First, let me say I wholeheartedly believe this. But what I am wondering is what some would say when God doesn't seem good. Most of the time when I read these words it is in reference to a praise...someone has been healed, a baby has been saved from pre-term delivery, a disaster is averted, and so on. "God is so good!" Well, yes, yes He is.
But what if that someone died before they were healed? What if the baby WAS born prematurely and suffered greatly afterwards? What if the disaster came to pass and hurt many? Would we still speak those four words, "God is so good!"?
I'm sad to say I don't know.
I have been in the shadows, in the valley where it feels like He is not at my side and distant. I know what it feels like to, with every fiber of my being, not want to praise His name. Yet, somehow, in some way, I am able to. Why? Well, I don't know the exact answer, but I know it is from Him and has nothing to do with what I am capable of alone. But, I'm ever grateful for that blessing. Am I able to do this all the time, in every circumstance? Not at all! I am constantly questioning Him and His ways, His timing, His purpose.
And then I remember those words, "God is good ALL the time!" Not just in the good times, or on the mountaintops, or when it is easy for us to praise Him.
So, I pray that in those times when we feel He is farthest from us and out of reach, when we feel like He isn't listening and He isn't good, that we would all remember the truth:
He is good, ALL THE TIME!! Yes, even then.
10 years ago
Thank you for that. I really needed that now!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, He sure IS, even during those dark times! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter!
ReplyDeleteAloha,
Leona
I have to agree...and wonder the same. My cousin who just lost her brother in a terrible accident on Saturday, lost her mom just 3 years ago. Both unexpected. Both sudden. Both unbelievably hard. (and I can't even BEGIN to understand her pain) She is getting married in June and I can't help but wonder if she is feeling this very same thing. I can only pray that she keeps the strength God has instilled in her and that she can keep her faith and trust in Him. MUCH easier said than done!
ReplyDeleteHe is good all the time b/c His ways are higher than our ways and we know b/c of His Word that He came to give life and give it abundantly. It doesn't mean we have to understand it...it doesn't mean we have to like it but either way He is Still Good - He is still the Great I AM. I love this series...I am blessed each time I read it. I miss you terribly; call me sometime!LOVE YA!
ReplyDeletehum, deepness going around? Great question, I can only hope that I could praise Him in the storm. So far I have been able to, but I haven't lost anyone or anything so significant that I thought I would not be able to breathe without them. I have watch another do it though and I have talked with her. She holds on tight to her faith because, I think, if she let go, well the option is just not acceptable. So we must hold on, we must keep our face turned toward Him, He will sustain us. His grace is sufficient for me. Hard one to hold but truth none the less.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this. God is good all the time. He is good through our struggles with infertility and He will be good when we are blessed with a baby. I cna't imagine going through this journey without knowing that He is there holding me up.
ReplyDelete“The LORD sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. The LORD keeps all who love Him” --Psalm 145 14-20a
ReplyDeleteGod is GOOD! In the middle of dark times it is hard to see that at that moment and sometimes it takes years to see the good that came out of those times. After a while though if a person stops and looks around, maybe because of the dark times a relationship was strengthed, or valuable lesson learned. God has a purpose for us all and while we don't understand why things happen, the fact is he is always there and always good.
ReplyDeleteI feel like sometimes people are so casual with the phrase, "God is good". Sort of like when people say, "Praise the Lord!" Your post was a great reminder that 1. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. (A quote I said to myself A LOT during Benjamin's "illness") 2. That even when things are bad, even when I'm not where I want to be in life, God has not fallen off his throne, this will work for His glory and my good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I've been thinking about this and wanting to comment since you posted, but alas, I have not.
ReplyDeleteGod IS good, all the time. I think that is hard for us to fully comprehend because we don't know anyone on this earth who is truly good ALL the time. Think about the best person you know, and even he/she is not good ALL the time. I think we try to use that "lens" that we naturally have as people when we're thinking about the things God is doing (or not doing) and how they relate to his "goodness".
Does that make any sense at all?
God will always be good even when things that are happening in our lives don't fit into our own definition of good. We are limited in our understanding.