God is Good....All the Time. All the Time....God is Good.

Some years ago, the phrase "God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good" became popular. It was given in a call-and-response pattern. Our African Associate Pastor, in his beautiful African accent, begins every message he gives with “God is good!” And, he waits until we reply “All the time!” Then he says “All the time…..” And we reply, “God is good!” He also closes each of his messages with the same words. He is impressing upon us the goodness of God. And, since he came to us about five months ago, we have become more enthused as we raise our voices, with huge smiles on our faces and joyously declare those words. We love it, and we love him! And, you know what? The gooder (that really should be a word) God gets to us!

Yesterday morning I woke up with such gratitude and said “God, you’re so good to me!” Then that phrase came to my mind and as I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline, a friend posted this photo below. The message was coming through, loud and clear. In spite of everything going on in our lives -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- God is so good. It seemed God wanted me to remind us of that today!

I’m sure there are those who roll their eyes when they hear someone say that phrase – especially when they’re going through tough times. And, I’ll be honest with you, there are times when I’m thinking “What’s up with this or that, God?” and then when I say, “God, you're so good all the time", I am putting my faith and trust in Him. No doubt, there are those who look at us hands-waving, Bible-toting, energy-flailing, do-gooders and saying “God is good”, ask their selves “What nut tree did those nuts fall from?” And they may even ask “Why can’t I say that phrase as energetically as they do?”

An old song “Give Thanks” by Don Moen comes to my mind. The chorus goes “Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son." Those words may swirl in people’s heads because they question “How can I give thanks with a grateful heart when I am going through so much turmoil? And, the Holy One? “How could He be holy and allow so much evil and corruption to run rampant in this world we live in?” I can only imagine how hard it must be for those who don’t know God and sense His great love for them that they find it hard to focus on how holy He is, but that doesn’t change the fact that He IS holy. Despite anyone’s doubts, His love endures forever and He is so understanding of all of our human doubts.

May I suggest that those of us who say “God is good all the time” have captured the heart of God and it’s not because of all of His hand-outs to us? Even when we don’t have a grateful heart because things just aren’t going our way, we can still look at the holiness of our God. The fact remains that God loves us all the time despite the doubts we all have from time to time.

Maybe today you’re struggling with giving thanks with a grateful heart, and saying “God is good all the time”, then I urge you to turn your focus on the Holy One. If you’re unable to do that, then just remember that He has given His only Son for us, despite the fact that He knew we would have doubts in His holiness. Go ahead and be human. Be upset about all the bad stuff that is happening in life but remember God’s love for you will never leave you – in fact, it will endure forever. We can all be thankful for that. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good!

"Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalm 136:26

Trusting God When It Just Doesn't Make Sense

I sincerely ask God to give me the words I should provide in my daily posts, and today, I was compelled to share these words. Maybe your heart is breaking because of a recent tragedy and you don’t know if you’ll survive the pain and heartbreak. I know some of you who are there right now. You are on my mind.

I heard a speaker share about when his dad was so ill, and in so much pain, that he really thought his dad would take his own life. He called his friend, a Christian psychologist, for advice. His friend said, "We pray that he won’t, but you may be right. He just might. And, it would be heart wrenching and painful for you. But, you will be okay, because you will still trust in God's sovereignty. You will bounce back because you will hold to your faith in God and you will live on with hope and determination. I know you. I know the storms you’ve come through. You will survive.”

That is so true for those of us who have met with a personal crisis, have experienced the loss of a loved one, who knows the tragedy of financial loss, who knows the pain caused from a divorce or broken relationship.....and we carried on. We made it through those times or, we are making it through those times right now. The speaker went on to say that his dad lived beyond that time and, in fact, his last days were filled with sweet times with his family and friends and trusting in God.

Yesterday, after our faith community had prayed months together for a dear 26-year old man who was battling cancer, I received the request for prayer for his beautiful wife (just married in June) and his parents, as his battle with cancer was over. As heart-breaking as that story is, without a doubt, I know there will be loved ones and friends who are already stepping up to give them support and comfort in these very tough times. There will be a healing process and they’ll be desperately looking for answers. But, with God’s abiding faith and love, they will make it. I know it because I know so many tragic events and I know those families survived and are thriving today.

When tragedy comes, we have an Anchor, and if we hold onto that Anchor, we will not go under. Yes, it hurts. But we will be okay because we still trust in our loving Father’s plans and purposes for our lives. We will bounce back because we will hold on to our faith in God and live on with hope and determination. Yes, we will carry on -- that is, those of us who know that this life is just a breath, compared to eternity. We will live another day and rejoice in our ability to stand strong in the face of overwhelming circumstances -- not in our own strength, but in His strength. "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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Jesus said, “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) One of the most beautiful promises in the Bible is that God “causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28). On this side of eternity, we don’t always see how He takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful with them, but we can have peace in knowing that He will redeem the tragedy somehow in His perfect timing. Perhaps some of the good He will bring is to use the pain to bring us closer to Him or bring us into a relationship with Him for the very first time. And at the end of each day, we will still proclaim: "God is good. All the time. And, all the time, God is good!"