Is God Really Good?

When God created mankind, He didn’t make us mindless robots. He gave each of us a choice to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him daily. God wanted a relationship, not a dictatorship with those He created. He wants to govern our lives lovingly, not with a cruel, heavy hand.

Adam and Eve’s ability to make their own choices led to sin which has brought pain and suffering into the world in which we live. Gone is the endless honeymoon between man and woman in Paradise and a perfect world in which not a weed, thorn or disease could grow. Mankind’s sin resulted in pain, hardships, disease, corruption and ultimately death – both spiritually and physically. Although God remedied our spiritually dead condition by sending His Son to make atonement for our sin, the sin set in motion at the beginning of time has resulted in not only the pain and suffering we experience today, but in every injustice we’ve seen throughout history.

God is not to blame for our circumstances, we are. But He is there to hear us when we cry out to Him, intervene when we surrender, and be “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

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While it might seem like God is unaware of your personal plight, God is ever-aware of our eternal plight. So, He found a way to redeem us through the life and blood of His precious Son. God found a way so we don’t have to pay the ultimate price for our sin condition. He sent His Son to pay that price.

Romans 5:6-8 tells us “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus also told His followers: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”(John 15:13) That is a good God – One who was willing to die (while innocent of any crime) so He wouldn’t have to live eternally without us.

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You may have had a negative experience with a domineering or distant father, but God is nothing like that. Scripture tells us that He is the perfect Heavenly Father, understanding, compassionate and aware of our weaknesses: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)

God’s Word says that He is not only an understanding Father, but One we can approach confidently when we need help (Hebrews 4:16). We are also told in Scripture that, as His children, we can ask Him for anything. (1 John 5:14-15) Jesus described His perfect heavenly Father by comparing Him to the good parents we think are: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”(Matthew 7:11). God is not like the father you might have had. He is perfect and good in every way.

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Perhaps you question God’s goodness because You’ve asked Him for something and He hasn’t delivered. God wants the best for you eternally, not just what will make you happy momentarily. God’s definition of what is good for us is often very different than ours. He knows what is best for us because He knows all things, not just our present, but our past and our future, as well. He knows what we’ll do with what He gives us and if we’ll walk away and forget Him after getting what we want. He also knows what to give or take from us so that we will cling to Him.

Psalm 84:11 tells us: “…no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” That verse assures us that if we are walking uprightly before God and asking Him for something good and He is still withholding, either what we are asking for isn’t truly good for us, or it isn’t time. Trust that what He withholds is in order to protect you. Trust that He loves you enough to say “no” sometimes. And trust that – unlike an earthly father who might give in to his child just to stop his whining, or spoil a child, not thinking about the long-term consequences – your Heavenly Father knows what’s best for you and when it is best to bless you.

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We all have people we don’t want to be around. Some of them irritate us. Some of them have offended us. Some of them are just uncomfortable to be around. Jesus said: “You have heard it said love those who are good and hate your enemies.” But, in teaching us of His perfect Heavenly Father’s love and requirements of us, Jesus said,“love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” He gave a pretty tall order because He wants us to love others as He loves them.

If God was not one to love the unlovable, then we would not have the ability, through His Holy Spirit, to do the same out of obedience to Him. Imagine a world in which there was no love and grace! God’s love and goodness makes that possible.  Instead of looking at the ways you think God is not good and loving, look at some of the amazing ways that He is.

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Do you picture an angry, impatient, hard-to-please God? To the contrary, Scripture tells us God is patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) God has also revealed Himself to all people so that no one has an excuse to deny His existence. (Romans 1:19-20) That is a God who is not hiding Himself but wanting to make Himself known to all so that He can extend His mighty hand to save.

Whenever you and I even question the goodness or trustworthiness of God, we offend His holiness (check out the Old Testament book of Job), and He has the ability – and the right – to wipe us off the face of the earth as soon as we do. But He doesn’t. Scripture says “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.” (Psalm 107:8).

Furthermore, Psalm 145:9 tells us: “The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” He causes the sun to shine and the rain to pour on the unrighteous, as well as the righteous. He is a God of second, third, and a million chances and His mercies are “new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:23) That is a good God who is waiting to forgive, redeem, and give a new start to anyone who asks.

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God is not only good, Himself, but He can make good out of the things in our lives that are bad.

He can redeem any person. He can reverse any mistake. And, He can make a masterpiece out of any mess.

As a God who specializes in redeeming and restoring and making all things new, He promises to “work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) When you and I surrender our lives to Him--or blow it after we have--He is there to pick up the pieces and put them back in new places so the picture of our lives can be even better than it was before. That is beyond good. That is incredible.

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Although God knows no one can compare to Him, He is not a selfish, egotistical God who wants no one else to be like Him. It is His goal that we be just like His Son (Romans 8: 29). God actually allows us to share in His virtue and goodness by imparting His nature to us through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

According to Galatians 5:22-23, we can, through His spirit living in us, possess and display the characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That is a good God who shares the best part of Himself with us.

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We can tend to think God is not good because we see people getting away with murder, literally. We see crimes go unpunished. Terrorists remain on the loose. Shooters kill many before turning a gun on themselves. The lack of justice sickens us and causes us to think God might not really be good.

Deuteronomy 32:4 declares: “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”And in Ecclesiastes 12:14, the wise King Solomon assured us: “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”Even if we can’t see justice served, we must trust that God, in His goodness, will bring about recompense. Proverbs 11:21 tells us: “Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished….”

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Scripture tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and therefore “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Although God’s Word assures us that the unrighteous (those who reject Christ) will be punished, it also gives us the wonderful news that God’s lovingkindness will prevail when it comes to those who are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.

Listen to this verdict from a good God whose very essence is mercy: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10-12) God’s mercy extends to the point that we who are trusting in Christ do not fully get what we deserve from a just God. That is mercy. That is grace. And that is truly good.

Cindi McMenamin is a national speaker and award-winning writer who helps women and couples strengthen their relationship with God and others. She has authored more than a dozen books including When Women Walk Alone(more than 130,000 copies sold), When God Sees Your Tears, When a Woman Overcomes Life’s Hurts, Drama Free: Finding Peace When Emotions Overwhelm You, and her newest book:12 Ways to Experience More with Your Husband. She and her husband, a pastor, co-authored the book, When Couples Walk Together: 31 Days to a Closer Connection. For more on her resources to help strengthen your walk with God, your marriage, or your parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com.  

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