Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
This is a youtube version of the song by Passion. which we recently sang at a funeral. God you’re so good –
On one of the streets I drive my school bus, a boy was shot and killed in possibly a gang drive by shooting. They believe their attempt was aiming for the older brother, but now a 13 year old boy is dead. Today, I picked up high school kids who live in the neighborhood and across the street. Do I still believe God is good? Does senseless death or any death negate God being good?
For me personally, I have found strength in the foundational attribute of God’s goodness. This is not saying that all bad things are good…they are not. Death brings sadness no matter how or why it occurred. Tragic events which happen to us or even events we have witnessed fill us with so much pain we cry out, “Why God?”
If you’ve never felt this way, if you have never second guessed God, if you have never felt being at the wrong end of the stick, then you have never understood the desperate need to fall upon the goodness of God as the only backstop to keep you from falling.
At the most basic level – God did do something about death. He sent His son, Jesus to live as we have lived and then died on the cross. He died so that we may have life. He overcame the sting of death. Don’t belittle His death by thinking it did not hurt or it was easier for him because He was God. He endured suffering and death for all the sins of the world. He died.
When you say, “why didn’t God do something?” He did! Jesus! Those who believe in Him will live on into eternity.
God’s goodness also extends beyond your moment of pain. We show God a snapshot of our pain, our injustice, and ask God to explain this photo. God replies in view of eternity through the eyes of the finished work which was accomplished on the cross. God replies in an ongoing video of His interacting with mankind. He loves. He sees the end and the beginning.
Job fell on the goodness of God when he lost children and possessions. It is a hard fall, but it is the most stable foundation that can be found. It will sustain you.
God’s goodness will allow you to walk in a broken world in which stumbling can happen at any moment. This foundation of God’s goodness allows you to reconnect with Him personally. This goodness keeps you from becoming jaded by the barbs of injustice. This goodness provides a place for peace to rest in your heart during the storms of life. This goodness is far more than a flippant bumper sticker. This goodness is a firm foundation in the sinking sands of life.
May you find, rest, and stand upon the goodness of God. Taste and see He is good. Take refuge and remain in the goodness of God.
Blessings Love y’all