While most Christians would never say that God is not good, many of us battle this lie, especially when we face unexplained suffering. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, when someone is unfairly let go, when the dream of marriage goes unfulfilled, when a close friend is hurtful. The list could go on.

About a decade ago, I grappled with this tension in a big way. In the space of a few months, I lost a child to miscarriage and my marriage imploded. Everything my life hinged on was suddenly gone. When I had experienced challenges before, I found solace in God’s Word, especially the Psalms. But this was different. I opened the pages of my Bible and read phrases about God’s love, his mercy, his justice . . . and it all sounded false. What I knew to be true of God did not match my felt experience. And a lie that had been latent but present in my heart rose to the surface—maybe God is not good. Or maybe he is not good to me.

One of the hardest things for me around the question of suffering and God’s goodness is the comparative nature of it. Why does she have a good marriage and children while I don’t? Maybe you’ve asked yourself those types of questions:

Why did he get the job instead of me?

Why does my child struggle with these issues while others thrive?

Why is everyone else getting engaged and not me?

We all wrestle with these questions in big and small ways. And the lie undergirding this tension is the big question—is God good? Is he good to me? If he is good, why am I facing this hard thing?

The only antidote to a lie is the truth, so we must turn to God’s Word. And the Bible is full of stories about the tension between human suffering and God’s goodness. Joseph was sold into slavery. Job lost everything he had. Stephen was stoned while proclaiming the gospel.

In all of these stories, we must hold multiple truths in tension:

God allows suffering

God is good

If we dig down and examine how these truths run parallel to one another throughout Scripture, it should expand our view of God. He is at work on a plan much bigger than any individual’s experience. We see this most clearly in Jesus’ life.

Jesus does not ask us to endure anything he was not willing to experience himself. All of Isaiah 53 paints a vivid picture of Jesus’ suffering for our sakes, but in my most recent reading, this verse captured my heart: “But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief” (Isaiah 53:10). Here we see those two realities running parallel but in stark contrast: God is good, and God allows suffering. Both are true in the greater story of God’s pursuit and redemption of his people.

Dear friends, I want to conclude by banishing any shame around our struggles with this lie. It is okay to ask God questions, and it is okay to grapple with why hard things are happening to you. Take those struggles to the foot of the cross and be honest with God and yourself. There, we find unimaginable mercy and grace, for he is good.

Sarah Bailey

For the Women at Grace Newsletter Team

“If he is good, why am I facing this hard thing?”

Read Genesis 29:1 - 30:24

Both Rachel and Leah certainly faced some hard and complicated things. We don’t have a full glimpse into all the different emotions, feelings, and thoughts that they experienced during this season of their lives, but I can only imagine it was extremely hard and suffering was involved. Their story highlights what can happen when we allow the lies we believe to cause a ripple effect in our lives. Lies of jealousy, comparison, worth, identity, and more.

A few questions come to mind as I read and study Rachel and Leah’s story:

>> Did they doubt God’s goodness in the midst of this complicated and likely chaotic season? How do I respond to God in the midst of complicated seasons of my life?

>> How did they interact with God while they were facing hard things? How do I interact with God when I am facing hard things? Do I seek to understand his character of goodness in the Scriptures and through prayer and alignment with the Holy Spirit?

Christy Peterson

For the Women at Grace Newsletter Team

• Have you ever felt shame for struggling to believe that God is good? What does it look like to be honest and grieve the hard things of life with God and receive his grace for your unbelief?
• What steps can you take to invite the truth of God’s Word to drive your thoughts and actions even when your emotions may not fully align with the truth?
• Often, we judge God’s goodness by comparing our circumstances with his apparent goodness to others. How do you see this idea played out in the story of Rachel and Leah? What do you learn about the character of God from this story?
  • How do you see comparison as the standard for God’s goodness in your own life? What is a more accurate standard for his goodness?

Whitney Maness

For the Women at Grace Newsletter Team