“Always Good”

You hear these stories all the time of someone who experiences a great catastrophe or a tragic loss, and it always goes one of two ways. Either they demonstrate incredible and inspiring faith in the goodness of God, despite (or maybe even because of) the circumstances, or they lose all faith that God is good and turn their backs on him. In either case, they get our attention, and the question, “Is God truly good?” rises in our minds because of it.

The song Always Good by Andrew Peterson is a prime example of this. He wrote it as a lament for a friend, whose wife died suddenly in childbirth, and sang it at her funeral. When he released the song, Andrew talked about how stunning and humbling his friend’s faith was, to trust God’s goodness at a time when he had every reason to drown in sorrow.

But what about those of us who haven’t experienced these great trials? I can only speak from my own experience, but I feel some days like it is almost harder. At least in times of tragedy, a person can say, “Something this horrible can only be withstood if I cling to the truth that God is good. He must be at work here.” Yet when the most horrible thing that has happened is I’ve had a really crummy day, or I’ve had a conflict with my wife that was largely of my own making, or I simply can’t see the light of God’s grace because the depression in my mind has blocked it out… How do I see God at work then? If God strikes me with great trials, okay, at least he has a work to do in me. But what about when it feels like he’s left me to deal with life on my own?

I don’t mean to trivialize tragedy. I mean only to invite you to acknowledge that we all struggle to understand God’s work in our lives. It is not abnormal to wonder if God is good when some days it seems like he hardly cares about your life.

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Just sit and look at that scene. Is God good? “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Is God good? “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed’” (1 Peter 2:24). Is God good? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  There is no explanation for Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins than this: Yes, God is good.

Does it explain the hard days? Not always. Does it make sense of tragedy? Only sometimes. Is it a promise that someday all will be made clear? Absolutely. Is it a guarantee that you can walk through shadow, fire, or swamp and come out the other side? Every time.

God is always good.

Andrew Peterson’s newest EP is called Resurrection Letters: Prologue. It’s a short collection of music reflecting on the darkest day in history when the Son of God and Creator of the universe was given up as a sacrifice for sin. This is one of a series of devotions inspired by these songs. Check out the song at the end of this post, and if you like it, pick up the album. Resurrection Letters: Vol. 1 will celebrate the victory of Easter, and is released March 30, 2018. For some thoughts on this song from Andrew himself, check out this post.