We certainly serve a powerful and capable King. He can handle the throne. But He is more than powerful. He is also good. This can be difficult to remember when:
- your friend's mom is diagnosed with cancer.
- your youth pastor leaves.
- your parents are getting a divorce.
- your friends abandon you.
- life doesn't work out the way you planned.
You may realize that God is capable of changing your circumstances, but when He doesn't, do you ever secretly doubt that He's a good King? I do. When things get tough, I guess there's a part of me that wonders if difficult circumstances prove that God isn't really good. But I realize that this is a lie with dangerous consequences. Nancy put it this way in her book Lies Women Believe: "Once we doubt the goodness of God, we feel justified in rejecting His will and making our own decisions about right and wrong. "The truth is, God is good. Whether or not His choices seem good to us, He is good. Whether or not we feel it, He is good. Whether or not it seems true in my life or yours, He is still good" (Lies Women Believe, 48–49). When we look at the messed up world around us or the trouble in our own lives, our tendency is to wonder if our King is good. When our emotions deceive us in this way, it is important to cling to God's truth. Just in case you need it, here is a dose of that truth:
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:11).
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9–11).
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17).
How about you? Do you ever secretly wonder if God is good? What specific circumstances most make you doubt His goodness? How does that doubt affect the way you live?