God Is Still Good

Jesus said to him, “. . . no one is good except God alone.” Luke 18:19

We have a saying, my friends and I: God is good . . . all the time. It’s not a platitude, an empty phrase insulting our intelligence, contrasting the horrors we see paraded across our TV screens, or in the lives of those we love. No. God is still good. All. The. Time. Call it blind faith, and faith it is to believe this saying is true, even in the midst of all the evidence screaming to the contrary. But is it only contrary? Is there never something to be grateful for, never some special providence, a hidden jewel waiting for discovery, a profound epiphany waiting to be revealed even in the darkest night?

If so, how do we find it? One way is to thank God for and in all things, never ceasing to declare that He is still good.

It’s not that we thank God for the awful things as if He intended them, rather we thank Him for the good He brings in spite of them.

God dramatically taught me this lesson several years ago, after I read Merlin Carothers’ book Prison to Praise.  My younger son had just gotten his first car.  His dad bought it for him on his way out of town for business on a Friday. As my son was driving the car home, the engine overheated and cracked the block.  Now I’m faced with having the car towed home (twenty miles away, an expensive proposition) or leaving it on the street till his dad gets home to take care of it, fearing it would be stripped bare by Monday morning. I knew my son would be blamed for the engine blowing up in the first place, because the car should not have been driven when it was overheating.  He had called me for advice, I asked a neighbor, who thought it would be ok. Not.

Settling on having the car towed I sent my son home in my car while I waited for the tow truck driver to arrive. You can imagine my angst: “Lord, this isn’t the car I prayed for!  I asked for one that would be reliable and safe!! Now we have to pay for a new engine. His dad is going to be furious!”

Then the Spirit whispered: thank God for the blown engine.  Excuse me? This is a disaster!  Nevertheless, I obeyed. “Thank You Lord, for this blown engine, I don’t know what You have in mind, but I trust You to bring good from this.” As I began to thank God, an interesting thing happened, my focus shifted from my difficulties and fears for my son and onto God.  I even began to imagine scenarios in my mind:  the tow truck driver is having problems in his life. This will be a divine appointment!  I really let my imagination go thinking, yeah, he needs to hear about Jesus! I couldn’t wait! I fully expected him to show up long faced, obviously in distress.

When the driver arrived, my bubble burst; he was happy, chipper, and didn’t seem to be in need at all.  As we rode to our home, I tried to bring God into the conversation (now, you have to realize, evangelism is not my gift; even though I love to talk about the Lord, rarely do I get to witness to anyone).  I mentioned that I taught in a Christian school—hoping he’d pick up on the “Christian” part.  Nothing.  Then, unexpectedly he told me his teenage son had recently committed suicide.  I told him our meeting was a divine appointment, that God had used my son’s blown engine so I could pray for him. Then an amazing thing happened, he began to weep and told me his girlfriend had just decided to move out that morning and that his life was falling apart.  As it turns out, he had been saved in prison about three years earlier when a Christian dentist risked his employment to tell him about Christ.  I asked if he attended church, knowing he needed fellowship and teaching, and recommended a couple I thought he might like.  I asked if he had a Bible, he didn’t, so I told him I’d give him one when we got to my house. When he left he was in tears at God’s providential care for him.  Was I rejoicing, praising God for that blown engine? You betcha.

And the rest of the story? Hidden in God’s foreknowledge, effected through obedience: My husband was not as angry as I feared he would be, the car dealership replaced the engine at no cost to us (at a cost more than we paid for the car), and they even installed new shocks!

Romans 8:28  And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. (TLB)

Ephesians 5:20  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (NLT)

I Thessalonians 5:19 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (NLT)

Gen. 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (NASB)