Is God Good?

Glancing at the title of this article, most of us would immediately say, “Yes! God is good.” After all, Scripture is clear when it speaks about God, saying, “You are good, and you do what is good” (Psalm 119:68). But the problem arises when a spouse is unloving or unfaithful, or when a grandchild is diagnosed with cancer. Many start to question God’s goodness when a loved one dies or a close friend betrays. Then if these things are compounded, even if we know Psalm 119:68 to be true, we might hear ourselves saying, “I’m just beginning to doubt the goodness of God in this life,” and we push his goodness off into some far away future where it can’t threaten our experience of the present

This struggle isn’t unique to us. When we wonder if God is good in this life, we can be certain that others are wrestling with that same question. They, too, have compounding heartaches. They, too, wonder if God is actually good as he says he is. And if they are convinced that the entirety of God’s Word is truth (Psalm 119:160), then it is possible that they believe God to be good, but they wonder if he is good now; he does good, but does he do good now? How can we navigate such dark times with each other?

We have to navigate these dark times with a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:1 instructs us to “restore such a person with a gentle spirit.” A gentle spirit must include a listening ear and a loving heart. After all, their doubts and confusions may one day be our doubts and confusions, and if they are, we would all hope to have a gentle counselor.

But while being gentle, we cannot forget to “restore such a person.” If they are to be restored, they must be reminded of truth, and the truth is that God is good and does good. With gentleness, having genuinely listened, we must redirect them to their good God. Psalm 73:28 tells us that God’s goodness is found in his presence; let’s walk together into the presence of God. Let’s dwell in his presence by faith even if our thoughts and feelings lag behind. Let’s draw near to God and see if he won’t in fact draw near to us (James 4:8).

I have said, “I’m just beginning to doubt the goodness of God in this life.” And I am indebted to those who gently reminded me, “God is good.” They lifted me up in prayer, but they also took my hand and led me into God’s presence. They said, “Let’s go to the Word and meet God there; let’s listen to what he has to say; let’s meditate on him.” And what I found was that when I drew near to him his presence was a healing salve. He is good. He does good. And his presence can be your good too! Have you tasted that the Lord is good (1 Peter 2:3)? Will you believe that God is good even now?

~ Pastor James La-Follette ~