{"id":53638,"date":"2020-04-16T00:54:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T05:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=53638"},"modified":"2025-08-06T12:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T17:45:23","slug":"gods-goodness-evident-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/gods-goodness-evident-covid19\/","title":{"rendered":"Is God’s Goodness Evident During COVID-19?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Would you have guessed that you and I would spend 2020 fighting a global pandemic? Can we trust God’s goodness during this trial?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

COVID-19<\/a> has done serious damage to the fabric of societies around the world. Some of us are batting unemployment, anxiety, boredom, loneliness — or the virus itself. For many, the situation goes even deeper; we are battling with the question of whether God is still good<\/a> during this difficult time.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nWe have the philosophical dilemma of thinking that a good<\/em> God<\/em> will always remove bad<\/em> things<\/em>. But we also have the emotional <\/span>realness<\/span> of this time. The struggle to believe in God\u2019s goodness is certainly understandable, as we consider all that has happened to us in the past month. <\/span>How can God really be good, we ask, when there is so much hurt?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Continue reading, or click here to watch video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Gods

Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Do You Trust God’s Goodness?<\/h2>\n

We would do well to consider what we have allowed to influence our belief in God\u2019s goodness. For many of us, our theology of God is based entirely upon our own experience of life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

> If things go well, we think God is good.<\/span><\/h3>\n

> If things don\u2019t go well, we think God is <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> good.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We tend to reduce the God’s goodness down to what feels good in our own experience<\/em>, and we tether our belief about God based on that<\/span>. But when that <\/span>thing <\/span><\/i>is taken away, our faith goes away with it, and we start to question God\u2019s goodness<\/a>.<\/span>
\nGod\u2019s goodness influences our world, certainly. And His goodness has no doubt stopped many, many horrible things from happening \u2014 things we never know about. But God does not promise us a pleasant life, nor does He promise that our experience of life is going to get better. These are false ideas about God that we have invented and wield as indictments against God when life gets tough<\/a>.<\/span>
\nRather than seeing the goodness of God linked against the troubles of this world, the Bible calls us to see God’s goodness as the answer<\/em> to the troubles of this world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s goodness transcends our present circumstances, and points to the things eternal, the things unseen. \u201cHere on earth you will have many trials and sorrows,\u201d<\/i> Jesus says in John 16:33<\/a>,\u201cBut take heart, because I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/i><\/h4>\n
\n

So What is the Blessing of God?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In Romans 8, the apostle Paul spends a great deal of time writing on the blessings of God. <\/span>We might expect “blessing” to mean that our lives will be comfortable and work according to our plan. <\/span>But this is not what Paul means at all. <\/span>
\nLook at verse 35<\/a>, which says, <\/span>\u201cWho shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?\u201d <\/span><\/i>Paul goes on to quote Psalm 44, to affirm that hardships will indeed come. But then he says, \u201c<\/span>No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>
\nNotice that these trials are the exact circumstances by which we find victory! <\/span>Today we struggle against the deadly coronavirus, yet it can’t<\/span>\u00a0overcome God\u2019s love for us. <\/span>In fact, the Bible promises that our eternal security in Christ will make us victorious through<\/em> this virus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

> Even if it takes our homes.<\/span><\/h3>\n

> Our jobs.<\/span><\/h3>\n

> Our lives. <\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We can say this <\/span>because<\/span><\/i><\/a> of <\/span>God’s goodness, not in spite of it! <\/span>The fact that our world suffers, only goes to show how much greater God\u2019s plan of redemption must be that He would allow bad things like COVID-19 to take place. Romans 8:18<\/a> says, <\/span>\u201cFor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.\u201d <\/span><\/i>God’s goodness is magnified in these times, not diminished!<\/span><\/p>\n

You and I can continue to pray that COVID-19 will quickly pass; I think we should. But we also can be confident that God is fully good and fully in control of everything that happens in our world. As it says in Psalm 112:7<\/a>: <\/i>\u201cThey will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD<\/i>.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\n

Next Steps:<\/h2>\n