God is good, right?

Have you ever noticed that when things are going good, you can boom out in church with the rest of the congregation, "God is good, all the time.  And all the time, God is good!",  but when trials, tribulations, and difficulties come along, you begin to wonder the truth of it?  Maybe you wonder where the goodness in physical sickness and injury might be.  Maybe you wonder how it is good that you are unable to meet your bills or you have to make difficult decisions like gas for the car or food for the table.  Nick and I might have been in that position if not for the goodness of my parents to let us live with them and to pick up some of the grocery bills.

I admit.  There have been times when I had to remind myself that I truly do know and believe that God is good, with good intentions, at a time when all my prayers seemed to get the "no" answer.  I had prayed that Elizabeth would remain healthy while we had no health insurance and instead she came down with such a whopping cold she developed bronchialitis and had to have breathing treatments.  I would pray, "Lord, please let Elizabeth sleep through the night, so she can fight this cold and I can get some sleep myself," and at 3 am she would be awake, coughing and hungry and wet.  I would pray, "Please, Lord, please take this cough away, it hurts her throat so much," and five minutes later she'd go through a hacking fit.  So, when my husband and I looked at our financials and he would say, "You know the Lord will provide, right?'  I could only respond, "I know that He can."  Because I didn't know if He would.


I have always heard stories about the Lord providing what someone needs, just what they need, in just the nick of time.  I've heard about orphanages who sat down to empty plates at lunch, given grace for a meal, and answered a ring at the door to find a basketful of food for them on the stoop.  I have heard of people walking up to out-of-work families and handing them an envelope of cash to pay a bill that was due that week, just because the Lord had prompted them.  These are amazing stories, but they had never happened to me.  And I almost couldn't believe that they would.  We'd had lots of bills for some time and as things began to get tighter and tighter, things just didn't seem to resolve.  And then someone knocked on our door Friday night.  And came in with an envelope of cash.  I could only sit on the couch with Eliza in my arms and cry.  It was just what we needed, and just in time.  I won't mention who it is, because I know he didn't do it for notoriety or recognition, but because the Lord had prompted him.  But thank you, Mysterious Friend, for what you did.  It proved to me that God is sovereign, and God is good, and I should never have doubted.

To add to the good news, our realtor called on Sunday.  A couple had looked at the condo and put in an offer.  It was below what we could afford to accept, but they had cash and they hadn't made any presumptive stipulations: they just wanted the washer and dryer.  We countered with what we could afford and in a matter of hours they accepted.  I sat down in the sponsors' meeting at youth group to hear the news that the condo was sold.  We signed the contract that night after youth group.  We close April 9th.  It still boggles my mind that it will be paid off in a matter of days.

Is God good?  YES!  There are two types of knowledge: one that you have in your head, and one you truly know.  Before 2001, I knew that Paris was a beautiful city.  I'd heard it many times, I'd seen pictures.  But after my backpacking trip and a few days in Paris in 2001, I now know that Paris is beautiful.  And I wouldn't mind going back.  The same is true here.  I knew God is good.  I knew that.  The Bible says so, I'd seen evidence of it in others lives, and in my own as well.  But that knowledge had never been tested in the way it has been in the past year for me.  And now I know God is good.  He is more than good.  He is Best.  He has provided, He has cared for, and He has loved me more than I could ever deserve.  And I will gladly praise Him for being good, for being GOD, and for loving me even as I struggled with doubt.


As a final note: Nick has had a series of interviews the past few days.  We hope to hear by the end of the week, if not before, that he's been offered a job.  It would be amazing, as three very urgent prayer requests would be answered in a matter of a week.  But we will wait and see the Lord's timing.  Stay tuned.