One of my favourite song lyrics is Rend Collective’s line ‘You are good when life is not.’ (‘I Choose To Worship’) A friend of mine made me a plaque with the line on it which sits above the fire in my living-room. Each morning as I pray, I look at the plaque and remind myself of God’s goodness. It’s a vital part of my morning routine, as crucial as brushing my teeth, washing or drinking that first cup of coffee! Charlie Cleverly said of the difficulty many of us have in believing in God’s goodness, “Many feel uncertain and that they have developed a kind of Achilles’ heel in this area, so need daily doses of realisation of the constant covenant love and good intentions of God for them.” (‘Epiphanies of the Ordinary’) My plaque acts as that daily dose, that daily reminder, necessary to help me live by the truth of Psalm 119:68: ‘You are good, and what You do is good.’
Sadly, we now live in a world that is no longer wholly good. Sin has damaged and distorted God’s good creation. Every day, people do wicked and evil things. We can easily feel helpless and hopeless as tragedies unfold. Mindless violence wrecking lives. Innocent children killed and injurged. Illness felling people. The sheer awfulness of life can be overwhelming at times.
Yet God is good when life is not. God is working for good in the lives of those whom He has called. (Rom 8:28) He has the ability to bring good out of the most horrible situations. (Gen 50:20) Good will flourish. Good will triumph. John 1:5 says that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
How do we live in a world full of sorrow, pain and grief? We don’t deny those realities. But in the words of another Rend Collective song, ‘Though sorrow is real, You won’t let it break us.’ (‘True In The Light’) We look to God, the source of all that is good; to God, who is love, to help us and to give us hope, purpose, comfort and strength to live as His people, wherever we are, and whatever comes our way.