When God Isn’t Good…
If you were to listen to the way some Christians speak about God, you’d have to wonder if He really were good all the time. Perhaps you have heard someone say, “God has been good to me today!” When someone says that (most likely out of ignorance) it begs the question — when hasn’t God been good? Does God have some quota of goodness to meet before it can be defined as good? If God was good today does this mean that He wasn’t as good yesterday? Will He be better to me today than He will tomorrow? Or to bring in our current situation—was God better to us before the COVID-19 pandemic? You can see how such a statement brings with it a set of questions that raise theological concerns.
Who is it that gets to define what is good? What happens if what one person defines as good is not considered good by someone else? Who is right or wrong? Or is goodness purely subjective? If goodness is subjective then what does that say about God? What is the standard by which we must judge goodness? You can see the trap here—can’t you? If such measures of goodness were based on human interpretation, then God cannot be good in the glorious way the Bible defines Him. If we aren’t careful in how we think and speak, we can begin to believe it is possible that God isn’t always good.
I believe the main problem here is that many people (believers and unbelievers alike) define what is “good” by the circumstances of their life. This is problematic and does not understand the immutability, sovereignty, or nature of God. If we measure what is good by what happens to us in life, then we will make idols out of what we desire. What happens if you have several days, months, or even years in a row of seeing nothing as “good” in your life? What will you think of God then? From this distorted perception comes all sorts of false doctrine. If we believe this deception then we will believe that God isn’t good because we have held him to a false standard of goodness—a standard that we have set in place of God’s Word.
Was Joseph not experiencing the goodness of God when he was hated and falsely imprisoned? Did God forget about him? No! In fact, we are told several times, “The Lord was with Joseph.” (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23) At the end of Genesis we see Joseph’s conviction about the goodness of God. He tells his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20) This means that God was with him during the so called "good" and "bad" times. God didn't stop being "good" to Joseph when the "bad" things happened. In fact, none of those things—in light of God’s sovereignty and goodness—can be defined as bad. They are all good because it’s what God had purposed for His glory and Joseph’s ultimate good.
Habakkuk provides for us how to see the goodness of God in the so-called “bad” times. His country of Judah was about to be obliterated by the Babylonians. This was a judgment from God for their years of wickedness and rebellion. Habakkuk questions God in the first chapter but then by the end of this short book he says, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19) Yes, even though things may appear to be “bad” in this scenario, Habakkuk recognizes that they aren’t because of his knowledge that God is good. Habakkuk knows that he must cast his hope on God and rejoice in the Lord and not solely his circumstances. He is then better able to see the situation as good because he knows that his God is one in whom he can find both joy and strength.
Or how about Paul the Apostle’s thorn in the flesh? Paul asked the Lord three times to remove a “thorn” in his flesh. We don’t know what this thorn was, but we do know that it wasn’t God’s will to remove it. Instead, Paul realized what God was revealing to him in his circumstances when he wrote, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) Paul came to the conclusion that even this thorn was a part of God’s goodness and grace in his life. While it wasn’t something Paul necessarily desired or enjoyed, he understood that this affliction was good because it drove him to find his strength in God and boast in Christ alone.
How can we define what is good? The answer of course is that “good” is defined by God as found in the person of God. The problem we have is not in God's goodness— it is in our definition of what we perceive to be "good.” Pastor Tom Ascol has said, "God does not do things because they are good. Things are good because God does them." Understanding this truth radically changed my definition of what is ultimately "good.” I began to discover that my definition of "good" was not always good. God is always working for the good of those who love Him and this brings him maximum glory. Yet, sometimes the “working for our good” includes the allowance of things that we may consider to not be good in the moment. Our view of God’s purposes can often be narrow and short-sighted, often forgetting the eternal reality of it all. Much of this life can be like looking at the back side of a woven tapestry—all we notice is a mess of loose strings and tied ends without a sense of the beautiful picture. But God is working to ultimately reveal to us the majestic image of that tapestry that is His plan for goodness and glory in our lives.
Perhaps during a rough patch in your life someone has quoted Romans 8:28 to you. It is an oft-misunderstood verse:“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). How is it that all things work together for good? It is because it is the good God who is doing the working together of all things. Since He is the one working then there is nothing in my life that can be counted as bad. It is a comforting thought to know that our heavenly Father is always caring and working good for each of His children. It should begin to change how we see everything that happens to us. Everything.
How then do we seek the goodness of God? Well, in a sense, the goodness of God is everywhere! “He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” (Psalm 33:5) Do we just look for the things that God does in our lives and delight in them alone? No. That will bring us to a fruitless end to our search for goodness. If we are to seek the goodness of God, then we must seek after and savor God. We must be satisfied in Him. The Psalmsist says: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8
What else do the scriptures say about God’s goodness?
1. The goodness of God is connected with his glory, grace, mercy and name.
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:18-20)
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5)
2. The goodness of God is connected with the presence of God. Wherever He is goodness follows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)
3. The goodness of God lasts forever.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (1 Chronicles 16:34)
4. The goodness of God is connected to all of His works.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. (Psalm 145:5-7)
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:8)
In conclusion, if we begin to think that God isn’t good, it is because we have defined goodness according to our metrics and standards. Look to God and His Word to truly understand the unwavering, unending, undeniable goodness of our Lord. When we see how God promises to work in and through us, we can truly say that God is good to us. This is true not just today but every day of our lives. Through triumphs or trials, satisfactions or suffering, enjoyment or exasperation, God is good. Rest in the fact that He cannot be anything or do anything other than what is good. In the end, it is God and God alone, that can define what “good” truly means.
