The Goodness of God

Is it just me, or does loss come in threes? Or maybe fours? It seems that whenever I’ve experienced a significant loss, it’s not long until another one follows.

Loss has a way of cutting us deep, of sucking our hope and our joy and any excitement for the future. And loss in the midst of a season of blessing is doubly as difficult, as we have to balance the joy of a new beginning with the heartache of loss. 

In those seasons, it can be really easy to stop believing that God is good. When He isn’t giving me what I asked for or if He’s taking too long to provide it, I doubt His love and care. I assume He is angry with me and that I’ve made some kind of mistake that is unforgivable and unredeemable.

I still believe He is sovereign and powerful and that He forgives my sins, but in a season of loss I often believe He no longer wants to be good to me. 

Naomi experienced incredible loss. She knew who God was, she was convinced of His character—that He was sovereign, ever-present, and good—but she stopped believing He was good to her. She’d lost her husband, her sons, her home, and one of her daughters-in-law.

She had to return to her people with nothing, utterly humiliated.

She planned to return alone, but Ruth refused to leave her. Now, she had to find a way to provide for both of them. How could God possibly be good to her and give her good gifts when this was her situation?

Naomi became bitter (as any of us would) because of the magnitude of the loss she experienced.

Grief has a way of confusing what we know to be true with what our circumstances seem to be telling us. It is easy to lose faith and hope. It is easy to believe that God has forgotten us or no longer cares about us. 

But what Naomi’s story shows us is that God always has a plan for our good. He is always working.

After recording Naomi’s heartbroken words, the author of the Book of Ruth foreshadowed the next events, showing us that God was not finished with her story. 

Naomi walked through a season of loss, a season that caused her to stop believing that God was good to her. God did not leave her there. He doesn’t leave any of His children there.

He continued to work in Naomi’s life and story, not only to provide for her physical needs but to restore her faith in His goodness. 

We know the end of Naomi’s story—that the daughter-in-law who stayed with her turned out to be better than seven sons—but we don’t know how our stories will turn out.

We may not see the way our loss will be a good gift until eternity. But you can rest in this: Your God is still good. 

Whether you are overwhelmed by bitterness or joy, the goodness of God never changes. God doesn’t need us to believe that He is good in order for Him to be good. But He has promised special grace and help to those who call on Him and trust Him.

He will fill us with peace in the midst of the hard times as we rest in His goodness. 

God does care.

No matter what loss we’re walking through, He is still a God who gives us good gifts. He is still the God who cares so deeply about His children that He will stop at nothing to show us His goodness.

There is a great advantage to walking through life trusting and believing in the goodness of God.

When we believe Him we find great hope and encouragement to face another day.

But even in the depths of our pain, even when it feels impossible to trust Him or believe that He is good, He sees us. Evidence of God’s goodness is found in His faithfulness, not in our faith. 

Wherever you are today, whatever you’re feeling and facing, He sees you. He knows. And He is good.

Today, let’s choose to believe that He is still good. That He is still giving us good gifts. And that He will do much more than meet our needs because He is working out a plan to restore our belief in His goodness.