What is Good?
This article is written by Hope at Joy In The Mourning Ministries.
God never fails. Honestly, sometimes it feels like He does fail us. Facts and feelings do not always align. There have been times where I pray for something and if the answer is no, then I feel stuck and I get frustrated. Dealing with grief can feel this way when the answer is no.
In Job we see Job crying out to God wondering why it happened that he lost everything before him. He was wondering if God was still there. God reminded Him of who He was. Sometimes the answer is what we do not desire or expect and it throws our whole life upside down. In Psalm 103 it says that God is faithful towards those who fear him (Psalm 103:17). We know that is true, but, like Job, we can feel desperate and need to express that to God. This is a reminder that fearing the Lord is respectful, as is being honest with Him about our feelings and understanding, or lack there of, in each situation.
There is a song I struggled with for a while because the bridge is "Your goodness is running after me." I struggled with this because I was thinking about when it feels like it is not. Is God truly good? Is His goodness ALWAYS running after me? Is He good when I do not feel like it? Is He good when I ignore Him? Is He good when I have doubts and questions and a lack of understanding? As questions like these filled my mind, I was more aware of how small of a view I had of God. His goodness may not look like what I think goodness is, but that does not change the fact that HE IS GOOD.
God is truly good and throughout seasons of life we can look back on and see how He is working in our lives and be reminded that He is faithful. In Romans it says that God works everything out for His good and His good is for our good. In Romans 8:28 says that God is working all things for our good for those who believe. God is faithful and knows our struggle through every storm. He is the only one who knows what is good since He, the ultimate Good, took our sins on the cross and offered us hope and salvation. This is how we can know He is truly good. So, as we face the week ahead, instead of getting caught in our feelings, let us be honest with God, take a step back, and observe with a renewed perspective what is truly good.
