God Is Good!
“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
On Sunday, I taught a lesson about trusting God when life gives us reason to doubt. By Tuesday, I, the teacher, was being tested on the subject. Something unexpected surfaced in my life, allowing me to truly believe, or not believe, the very lesson I stood before a group of ladies and proclaimed.
The Ladies’ small group I teach is studying through the book of Exodus, and in chapter one, the Hebrews are in Egypt. Pharaoh, in an effort to subdue them and keep them from multiplying and gaining power, enslaves the Hebrews, oppresses them with hard labor, and makes their lives bitter. Of course, none of this was a surprise to God. He had told Abraham hundreds of years earlier that Abraham would have many descendants and they would be in a foreign land for 400 years. God told him their life would be bitter but that He would bless them, and they would become a great nation. And He promised they wouldn’t stay there.
I’m sure the Hebrews believed what God had said, but you and I can imagine how they must have felt. Picture being a Hebrew slave in Egypt, under constant threat of the slave drivers bearing down over them and given an almost impossible task of making bricks without straw. Would the Hebrews remember God’s promises, especially the one where they would leave Egypt and go into the land He had promised them? Or would their bitter circumstances cause them to forget or doubt God’s promises and drift away?
How would you and I respond? Would we believe and trust God, or in our harsh circumstances, or would we question and doubt God’s promises? If my Tuesday was an example, I know I would struggle. That Tuesday, I cried tears of sorrow and anger, had a pity party, and begrudged my situation.
You might know that I have a history of heart issues. I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve. I had heart valve replacement surgery and aneurysm repair in 2014, a heart attack and a stent placed in 2023, and the week after the lesson, that Tuesday, I was diagnosed with AFib. Hearing the news, I immediately disintegrated with bitter frustration. I had done everything I knew to do to keep my heart healthy. I had been compliant with the cardiologist’s instructions; I was faithful to take my medications as directed. I ate a healthy diet; not touching processed foods and sugar. I exercised even when I didn’t want to, and still, my heart issues kept multiplying. As I write this, the heart valve that I had replaced is failing, and I wait for a second possible open-heart surgery. Honestly, I’m over it! As I messaged my cardiologist, “I’m done!” I asked God why he allowed me to be born with such a bum heart? Doubt was rearing its ugly head.
What situation are you in right now that is causing you to doubt God? Is your life not going the way you thought it would or should? Has something unexpected and unpleasant interrupted your peace? Maybe your situation is making your life bitter, you feel oppressed and depressed, and there doesn’t seem to be a way out? Are you beginning to doubt God’s goodness? Where do you need to trust God? Are there tears of anger and frustration that are sowing the seeds of bitterness?
From my perspective, Tuesday wasn’t the best day. But on that bitter day, God allowed me to remember and believe His Word. It was a testing of my faith and a refining of my broken heart. God redirected me to His Word and promises.
God had promised Abraham they wouldn’t stay in Egypt. God keeps His promises and is faithful to His Word. God sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the Promised Land.
God gives us His promises too. And God’s promises never fail. He promises that no matter what occurs in our lives, good and bad, He will work all those things together for our good, His purposes, and His glory. (Romans 8:28) He promises never to forget us (Isaiah 49:15) and never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5). He promises that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39). He promises that when we are brokenhearted, He is near (Psalm 34:18).
God is good. His Word is good. His ways are good. When you and I are having a not-so-good day, we must turn to God’s Word for encouragement, and we can experience His goodness at that moment and each and every day. God’s Word never fails!
© 2026 Robin R King
