Is God Good or Not?
Jeremy Miller / Pastoral Resident
Is God good or not? This question was posed to me during a conversation with a fellow pastor, and as I was wrestling with hurts and disappointments from the past in my journey with God, the main struggle became apparent: do I believe God is good? Because either He is, or He isn’t.
When the Israelites were wandering the desert after their exodus from Egypt and embarking on a new life of freedom from slavery, they often found themselves looking back at things they had in slavery that they didn’t have in their new lives of freedom.
“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”” Numbers 11:4-6
How easy it is to become miserable and ungrateful with what is in front of us when we lose sight of where God has brought us from. This is why throughout the Old Testament God instructs people to build altars of remembrance, because when we lose sight of what He has done we forget His goodness.
Just because the journey is not what we thought it would be, or it doesn’t look like how we envisioned, does not mean it is not the best path for us in this season. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time before God brings a promise to fruition. God cares more about the journey than the destination because the journey helps mold us into the person He desires for us to grow into.
Maybe you’re stuck in disappointment because this life is not what you envisioned. Maybe you often find yourself looking back at what you gave up in order to follow Jesus and are weighing the cost whether it is worth it or not, and I completely understand where you are. I too have been in this battle for a long time. Think back to that moment God saved you, that you knew He loved you, that He promised you He was good and loving. We cannot always know exactly what He is up to or His ways of doing things, yet can we trust His goodness? Can we trust that while this journey with God through the desert is not ideal, and this manna is getting old, that He is good? That He is working things out for not only His benefit, but yours as well?
This is the invitation God gives us, to remember His goodness when times are tough and trust Him through the journey, that He is for us not against us. Take time to remember the good the Lord has done in your life and meditate on His goodness and love for you.