47 – Is God Really Good?

There are lies waiting for us in the deep. Lies that strike deep in our souls, spreading through us and misleading us. And one of the most damaging—and dangerous—lies of all is this: “I’m starting to doubt God’s goodness.” Isn’t that a reasonable reaction? After all, aren’t we just being honest when we say that? On the surface, the answers are yes. But sometimes what’s “reasonable” and “honest”…aren’t. Come explore what we’re really saying when we buy into the lie that maybe God isn’t so good after all.

SHOW NOTES

Maybe you’ve heard this prayer, or maybe you prayed it yourself as a child: “God is great, God is good, Let us thank Him for our food.” For such a simple prayer, it contains incredibly important theology. But words sometimes have a way of becoming rote. We speak them and don’t think about what they really deep down truly say.

Today we want to focus on the phrase “God is Good,” because when things go awry in our life, or when they’re hard, or we suffer, or loved ones suffer, It’s easy to question: Is God really good?

 

What does it take to bring us to that place? What makes people say they doubt God’s goodness?

* Our prayers aren’t answered when and how we want

* We find ourselves in difficult circumstances longer than we think we should be there

* People, especially other believers, hurt us

* There is so much evil in the world

Oh, the temptation to take hold, to embrace the doubt, to question God’s goodness! Life can be so hard! Overflowing with struggle. Not the “I-can’t-find-a-parking-spot-at-CostCo” kind (as irritating as those may be), but the struggles where home or family or security or life are in peril. Hurt and fear leave us feeling abandoned. And as each blow lands on already bruised places in our spirit, we wonder what God is doing.

 

Is God still good, even in the deep places? Does being in deep places change His goodness?

It’s okay to struggle. It’s even okay to doubt. But we need to move from doubt to trust that God is who He says He is.

Do we change our God based on circumstances? What do we give more attention to—what’s happening or God’s character as shown to us in Scripture? Do we assign more power to God, or to whatever is assaulting us? Where do we spend our time—struggling and fighting against the assault or seeking God?

When we let ourselves focus on the struggle, when we become steeped in the pain and consequences of whatever is happening, it has a tendency to numb us. Overwhelm us. Is it any wonder, then, that we can’t FEEL God? And because we can’t feel Him we think He isn’t there. And that’s when the doubting…the questions start.

But here’s the thing, friends. While I agree that God is big and powerful enough to handle our doubts, do you understand what you’re really saying when you say you “doubt God’s goodness”? This isn’t just some harmless response to bad times. This is something far more. This is questioning whether God is who He says He is.

When we allow these thoughts—these blatant lies—into our hearts and minds, we’re not just doubting an aspect or behavior of God—we’re questioning God Himself. Think about it. We, the creation, are sticking out our chins and saying to our Creator, “Prove you’re who you say you are.”

Now, I’m not saying this doesn’t seem to be an understandable response. We’re human, and we’re frail, and we can only take so much, right? And it’s not like you’d be the first to do this. Remember good ol’ Job? God lets him talk and ponder and even complain and doubt Him. And then, in Chapter 38, God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind:

 

Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you,