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Sunday, November 17, 2013

God Is Good...

...All the Time
And all the time...
God is Good.

We say it a lot, and I think most of the time we mean it, but a part of this simple phrase has made me think a lot lately.

It normally goes like this -

Life is normal.
*sweet music in the background*
Crisis strikes.
*Cue scary music*
We panic.
*music rises*
We panic some more.
*music reaches a climactic pitch*
Something resolves and the crisis is eliminated.
*Cue relieved face*

You know what comes next.....

"God is Good," we say with a sigh of relief, wiping our hand across our forehead as we ponder on the narrowness of our escape from tragedy.

So obviously we are thanking God for ending whatever just happened - tire got fixed - person got better - money came in - and we (rightly) are giving God praise for his goodness. Good stuff, and quite proper I think.

But why is that when we say it?

Well obviously, you say, God has been good to us for ending that ____ (fill in blank)

I find myself asking why that is the only time we say it - why is it *after* the crisis, we say God is good to us?


I think that timing speaks volumes about what we believe about how God should be treating us. We give God thanks in plenty with sunny skies, we panic when it all goes catty-hoopus, and then thank God when the clouds leave and the sun comes back.

If you work it out logically, it means that if you only are saying God is good when times are good, that means that you think God is not good when times are not good. Thank God for all the plenty. Hot-Doggidy what is this-  - Hard times? PANIC. WORRY. FRET. Whew, hard times behind - God is good.

Why aren't we thanking God in the hard times - *during* the accident, *during* the sickness?

And I am not talking about looking for the bright side of things and thanking God for that -  that still implies that there is a dark side of things that you are not thanking God for. I am talking about thanking God for the rough, the tough, and the no-fun. The mud on the Church clothes. The rain on the picnic. The lack of funds.

There is a story in WWII, where the only reason that the prisoners in German concentration camps were allowed to read their Bibles in peace, was because of the very lice that they had complained about was keeping the German guards out of their rooms - leaving them to read, study, and worship in absolute peace.

Sometimes those bad times are just what we need, and we need to thank God for them. Why wouldn't we? We shouldn't be thankful for all the good stuff God dishes out, only to be cranky when the mill slows down.

 Really, what have we to complain about?  

 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Flowers need rain *and* shine guys. And both in good portions.


And yes, that verse does say *all* things. Even flat tires. Even broken legs. Even sadness, heartache, misery, and unfair treatment. And even lice. All things.

So next time you land flop in a doozie, stop for a second and thank God for it. Don't try to find some reason why it is good, because that still leaves out thanking God for the bad. Just thank God for it, and move on. Like the verse said, it will work for good.

So, I guess I was wrong.

If you thank God in hard times, in reality, you really are thanking God for the good stuff.

The phrase "It's all good", suddenly has new meaning. Bummer, it so irks me when people say it.  : (

In the long run, if we really look back at our lives, we will find that it is those hard times that produced the best growth in us. God said it's better to go to a funeral than a house of feasting.

God gives us those hard times, because he knows we need them.  

Yeah - I was wrong. I guess bad times, really are good times, and then, no matter what, we come back around to thanking God for the good times.

Imagine that. God must be good.

13 comments:

  1. Incredible perspective. Wow, is that something to think on. I have a long ways to go! Great reminder, thanks for sharing.

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  2. Guilty - I always use the term "It's all good". ;)

    I personally don't believe God gives us bad times. God only gives good gifts (bitter and sweet water can't come from the same well). However I wholeheartedly believe that God uses everything to His glory and purpose. So whilst I agree that we should praise God in the storms as well as the sunshine with a heart of gratefulness, I think it's more a case of being thankful for who God is in these situations, rather than saying "thankyou God for this flat tire". Being thankful that He is still sovereign in our lives and that He will use it for good.

    That rambled on a bit, but anyways. Thanks for this, David. :) Good stuff to ponder.

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    1. I think I would have to disagree with you there - because I think that line of logic leads to saying that there is such a thing as bad times. Why are they bad? Granted, God *lets* things happen, as opposed to *making* things happen, and I agree there, but I personally think that if we aren't thankful for the 'bad' as you put it, we won't be as appreciative for the 'good'.
      But that whole bad-good distinction assumes that there is a standard of what should or should not happen (not referring to moral law - referring to sovereignty of God and what happens to us in our lives)
      It goes like this. Tires should not pop. Therefore, my tire popping right now was bad.
      It builds a false standard of what should and should not be happening to us - or what we think should and should not happen to us.
      Who says tires should not pop? Who says we shouldn't have cancer? Who says we shouldn't have had that tree fall on the car? We can only say something is *bad* when we have a standard of what is *good*
      (obviously, and I know you know all of this - bear with me for a second - building case....)
      You can only have *good* when you have a standard of what *good* is, and then of course the definition of bad can be derived after that.
      So to say that you can still have bad times means that we have built our mental standard of what God should and should not do to us, and God just let somebody or something cross that line with this flat tire. Dear Lord thank you for being in control, but seriously, this shouldn't have happened.
      Who are we to judge what should and should not have happened?
      I would thank God for being in control, and for the flat tire, because, honestly, I see no reason *not* to thank God for the flat tire.

      Whoa, talk about rambling.... Wow... Sorry. I'll get off my soap box now....
      Did that make any sense? :p

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    2. Sure did make sense. I see where you're coming from, and I probably should've kept my mouth shut in the first comment, because this is a discussion I could drag out until the cows come home. I'll try and keep this short though. I understand what you're saying; I know a lot of folks who agree. But the thing is, the way you perceive this whole issue is swayed by how you understand God's sovereignty. The way I understand it, is that God is sovereign over His children's lives, i.e., when we surrender our lives to Him, He is sovereign and those "bad" things (cancer, the popped tire, the dead calf, etc.) He will work out for good. However I don't believe that He "lets" or "allows" these things to happen. These things happen because of the devil, because he is here to kill, steal and destroy. So any destruction of health, matter (car tires), relationships, etc. is of the devil. Not God. It's not that God allows it, but rather it's a result of living in a fallen world and it being under satan's reign.

      So in my belief, bad things are just that. Bad. Cancer? Not of God. A person doesn't get cancer from God, because God doesn't destroy, in fact, through Jesus He already paid the price for our wellness (1 Pet. 2:24, note past tense). Can it be used for His glory? Yes indeed. That is what is amazing about God. He can use what the devil meant for evil for good. However I don't believe bad things are God ordained. Maybe devil ordained, or self ordained (we can get ourselves into pretty good messes without even trying) but stuff of destruction or disharmony is not from God.

      At the same time, I don't like the "God is good" tagline whenever something good comes along. God is still good in the bad stuff. The bad stuff might not be good, but God is. And that's what gives me hope. :) I can say, "I may be in a bad situation, and I'm grateful this isn't from God and He will get me out of it, but I praise God, because even now, He is good."

      And yeah, that went longer than I thought. o.O I don't expect you to agree with me, but does where I'm coming from make sense? :)

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    3. I see where you are coming from, and I understand. I think I would still have a hard time saying things are 'bad' as far as happenings go - we sure may not like them - lice - or cancer - and it may be destructive - but God wanted it, so I don't (or try not to) argue.
      I guess we'll call it a draw. :)
      Who knows - maybe its a sorta mix of both!

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  3. Excellent post :D I knew I had to read it when I saw that picture, though. Do you know the story behind it?

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    1. Sure don't - I bet that poor moose doesn't either!

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  4. Howdy Country Boy! Great post. I got a little taste of this back in June when I was involved in a wreck between a pickup and a motorcycle (the pickup won). No one was hurt, but it did set me back several thousand $$$$. God's ways are far above ours and "...he giveth not account of any of his matters." Job 33:13. I have learned to be thankful for it and I believe that God allowed/orchestrated this in my life "that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man." Job 33:17. It is a hugely humbling thing to me when I consider that the God of heaven considers it worthy of his time to shepherd me in the way he wants me to go in. Though the rod and staff may bring pain or discomfort, we should give thanks, for Romans 8:28 is still in the book.

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  5. Ugh....needed this today. Thanks for writing it, David. It's so hard to see when you're in the middle of something. See you tonight.

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    1. No no - not ugh - Remember - God is good - no *ugh* involved.
      :D
      Sorry, had to raz you there - I'm glad it helped, and I understand about being blind in the moment.

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    2. God is good. It's still not fun. That's what the "ugh" was for ;)

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