By Alex Ellis, Vice President
I heard someone recently use the phrase "jaded faith." That registered with me. I went through a string of events several years ago that rocked me to the core. The faith that I had before wasn't sufficient to deal with it. It became jaded—fatigued by overwork. I became cynical about God's goodness. My old faith couldn't hold me, and God had to carry me to keep me from turning away from Him completely. That's scary, but it's true. More on that in a moment.
I was telling a guy the other day that God is changing my view of Him to see Him as good in ALL things, not just pleasant things. It's a process.
You've probably heard someone say this before, "If God were good, then He wouldn't let this happen." Pain seems to be the greatest threat to a person trusting God's goodness.
Maybe you've gone through financial hardship, the pain of divorce, the death of a loved one, betrayal, abuse, unjust criticism, rejection, abandonment, something that made you feel tainted/ruined, or health problems. Or maybe it's simply seeing the pain of others. You fill in the blank. "Because of ___________, sometimes I doubt that God is genuinely good."
What's the Bible say about this?
Exodus 34:5-7 is where God explains to Moses His glory (what is most amazing about Him). It's His nature.
The original text was written in Hebrew, a very rich language in which one word can carry far more meaning than we can translate into English in one word. God hand-picked five words to describe Himself.
- "Merciful" - In the original language, this word comes from a picture of a mother looking down at her nursing baby and having pity on the child knowing that it needs her help. This is compassion. It's the desire within God to offer His help.
- "Gracious" - He enjoys giving to undeserving people. He finds pleasure in it. The Lord "desires mercy..." (Hosea 6:6). "By grace you have been saved..." (Eph. 2:8). "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16a)
- "Long-suffering" - comes from more than one word. It has the picture in mind of nostrils flaring in anger and the concept of a long time passing. God waits a long time before His anger flares. He is incredibly patient. "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy" (Psalm 103:8).
As much as these things are true, God then says that He is ABOUNDING in: - "Goodness" - this is the Hebrew word "chesid" (pronounced "hessid") which is at other times translated "loving-kindness", "loyal love", "mercy", and "steadfast love." It is a love that is very loyal. It is especially focused on kind acts of devotion. King David wrote in Psalm 23, "Surely goodness and CHESID will pursue after me all the days of my life..." God is kinder than we can possibly imagine.
- "Truth" - this encompasses more than truth. It speaks of God's rock-solid, unchanging nature. He doesn't sway like waves in the sea or shifting shadows. He's stable, reliable. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not moody. He doesn't change with the latest fad or school of thought. He's like a mountain that stands firm throughout the generations.
- God then clearly stated His hatred for sin and His commitment to justice. He "will not by any means clear the guilty." He doesn't wink at sin or play favorites with people. God is more serious about sin than we can possibly imagine. He is so committed to justice that He sacrificed His own Son to provide Himself with the right to forgive us. (See Romans 3:26)
The reason that we don't fully trust His goodness is not because we struggle, but because we resist. It feels too risky to believe that He's really like this. Crazy, I know. But if we were all honest, hand-on-heart, most of us would admit that sometimes we have these thoughts and concerns about trusting our God.
His kindness shocks me sometimes because He is so resilient with it. I don't say this as a Pollyanna. I say this as someone who has had the foundation in life ripped up and rebuilt. I've seen His hand move on my behalf more times than I can count, supernaturally doing specific things for me outside of the realm of my control. He has been good to me, even in the pain. He has been loyal to me when I wasn't loyal to Him. He sustained me. He still does, and that leads me to trust that He always will.
Sometimes His goodness is obvious right away, while other times we have to wait to see it. And there are some situations that we will understand only after we've gotten to Heaven—these take the most faith.
God wants us to trust Him fully. And He revealed His goodness the most when He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. We were His enemies, and He gave His life so that we could live through faith in Him.
"You are good, and do good." (Psalm 119:68)
Let's join the writer of this Psalm and declare our confidence in the goodness of God. Let our praise be heard today! He is worthy!
If this has benefited you, then I encourage you to share it with others. And I'd love to get your thoughts on this... send me an email at
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. I will keep your comments in confidence unless you give me permission to post them here with only your first name.
-Alex
COMMENTS
"Thank you for sharing this! I enjoyed following your thought process... a journey worthwhile for me. This came at a great time for me! God is truly good." --Jordan
"Hi Alex - I can not explain the way our Father has used you and the timing of this note. Jeremy has been in India over a week and almost immediately my mind came under attack and I've really been hurting this week. Jesus has been working at making me deal with some trust and vulnerability issues with Him. He is also challenging me to expect His goodness. He is trustworthy and I'm trying to fully understand that and apply it. Thank you for sharing your "God wrangling" and giving some biblical insight." -- Pamela
"Man, this speaks a lot to me.... can I print and share this with my Sunday School class?" -- Chad
"I struggle a lot with complaining at times, even if I keep it to myself. A verse that helps me is Prov. 21:30, "There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD." No matter how good I think my argument is against my circumstances, it still doesn't carry weight when I factor in God's sovereignty. It can then feel like a burden that I must carry. And the only thing at that point that makes the burden "not burdensome" (1Jn 5:3) is trusting His goodness. This trust leads me to lean on Him, which is my understanding of walking in the Spirit. (Easier said than done... lol)" -- Bill