God’s Question, “Do You Still Think I Am Good?”

Sometimes I hear God question me, “Do you still think I am good?” And sometimes I yell back, “NO!”

You would never do that, would you?

(Photo Credit: Ben White)

Well OK, maybe you would; especially if you find it all too easy to look at circumstances to define God’s character. When circumstances are good, I am confident, “Of course God is good.”

As Mercy Me’s new release, “Even If,” puts it,

It’s easy to sing
When there’s nothing
to bring me down

But when life turns a direction that I rather not go, I am vulnerable to wondering about God’s goodness.

Andrea, a friend’s wife, once told me that she hears God ask, “Do you still think I am good?” when her perception of what God is or is not doing leads to frustration. Ever since, I’ve been hearing that question myself. Here’s a few examples. You can probably think of your own.

• When I am angry because the specter of abuse once again becomes raw;
  “Mark, do you still think I am good?“
• When I am stuck in shame and disappointment over my sin and failure, rather than receiving God’s forgiveness;
  “Mark, do you still think I am good?”
• When loneliness attacks body, soul, and spirit;
  “Mark, do you still think I am good?”

“NO! I don’t think you’re good!”

I love this about God’s goodness; he accepts me even when I respond like a little child throwing a tantrum. He wraps me in his arms (even though I don’t physically feel him) as I bleed out my fears and frustrations. And when I calm down, I admit, “Yes, you are good.” That’s really the purpose of his question. He knows that accepting his goodness brings hope, regardless of circumstances.

While all the lyrics from Mercy Me’s “Even If” song are powerful; I especially appreciate these lines.

               I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone

“Do you still think I am good?”

“Yes, my hope is You alone.”

( Click here for Mercy Me’s “Even If” video)