At a wedding I attended recently, the couple had each of their parents pray for them. As the bride’s father began to speak, you could sense the emotion welling up within him. I haven’t been able to forget what he said.
“Each year, at Thanksgiving, my kids tease me and ask if I’m going to cry again. And, every year, I say, ‘Yes’ because the goodness of the Lord overwhelms me.” His eyes were filled with tears as his final words left his lips…the goodness of the Lord overwhelms me.
It’s so easy to question the goodness of God, isn’t it?
We look at the things that are dysfunctional, or going badly in our lives, and immediately wonder how a good God could let it happen. We see newspaper headlines and stare at pictures of starving children and think God must be blind or just plain bad, and we wonder why a good God would let people experience such pain. Personally, we look at broken relationships, miserable jobs, loneliness, death, pain, hurt—and we want to know when this good God is going to show up, take notice, and fix it.
Psalm 84:11 talks about the Lord being a sun and a shield, giving grace and glory. Then, it says He does not withhold any good thing from him whose walk is blameless or upright…no good thing!
Now, before you object and say, “Well, I’m not blameless so that can’t refer to me.” Be assured…if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you are indeed blameless in the sight of God. Plus, this verse had to be written about someone, right?
So, here’s the thing. If we focus on walking blamelessly before the Lord, avoiding habitual sins, and trying our best not to do anything foolish, then we can be assured that what is in our lives right now is good for this time. That means, even if your parents have cancer, or you are dealing with a broken relationship, or have a broken leg – God is not holding back good things, but is working through tough situations to refine and grow you.
At the end of the day, every hard thing either makes us bitter or better. I hope we begin to see God’s goodness reflected in the pleasant and painful things we encounter. And, that we stand firm upon His word, trusting in His overwhelming goodness.
