Is God Good All the Time?
It’s amazing how many times I’ve heard this phrase: “God is good all the time; He is good.” What caught my attention when this phrase is used is that, most of the time, it is tied to something good that God did for the person. This phrase is often used to feed our selfish desire. We hardly ever hear someone say, “God is good, all the time He is good” when something happens that is not good for them. I know we need to understand what a person is going through in the middle of something that is not good for them, especially in tragedies. It’s not easy! But understanding that God is good must come with the right perspective. It’s all a matter of perspective!
In the Bible, we have many stories that can help us validate this idea of perspective. I’ll work with one of those passages. Ruth is one of the most beautiful books in the Bible. It’s a beautiful story of God’s goodness. Goodness from God’s perspective, but a challenging moment for Naomi. In verses 20–21: “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me!” (NIV). Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons. Naomi’s perspective at that moment was completely wrapped up in a human view, not a divine one. She couldn’t see the whole story! Today, as we read the book of Ruth, we can understand what was happening. From God’s perspective, the story of redemption was blossoming. From God’s perspective, Naomi’s pain was good; salvation came into the world through Naomi’s pain (Ruth 4:18–22). YES! “God is good; all the time, He is good.”
Our human perspective always leads us to say, “God is good, all the time He is good” when something good happens to us. A lack of understanding of God and what He is doing today leads us to this attitude. We have the book of Ruth today to confirm the understanding that, even in hard moments, “God is good, all the time He is good.” It’s all a matter of perspective.