If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. – Daniel 3:17-18
God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. How many times have we heard this phrase said or perhaps quoted it ourselves? Christians love to talk about the goodness of God. We write and sing about it; and we even hang our Christianity on it. However, do we actually believe God is good? When our prayers go unanswered; when the storms overtake us; when life is far from “sunshine and roses,” do we still believe that God is good?
Some seem to have this strange notion that serving God means everything will always go right and there will only be smooth sailing. However, God never promised this to His children. The Bible talks over and over again about trials, tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions. We are told to endure hardness (II Timothy 2:3), endure afflictions (II Timothy 4:5), endure grief (I Peter 2:19), and endure chastening (Hebrews 12:7). There will be persecutions and tribulations for us to endure, according to II Thessalonians 1:4. The Christian life is far from easy.
The Bible is filled with countless stories of God’s people enduring a variety of life’s circumstances. They lost loved ones. They were enslaved, threatened to be killed, thrown into prisons or lions’ dens, cast into fiery furnaces, beaten, and the list continues. In light of this, what makes us think that if we serve God, nothing will ever go wrong? Then, when things do go wrong, why are we surprised?
James 1:3 says, Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Romans 5:3 says, And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; We need to experience difficulties in order to exercise our patience, but to what end? Hebrews 6:12 says, That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. James 1:4 says, But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. We cannot inherit the promises of God, be complete, and want nothing without patience. We cannot have patience without tribulations.
According to the Word of God, the hardships we encounter are actually for our good. When they come, though, will we still believe that God is good? When the troubles come, will we be like those brave Hebrew children who believed that God could spare them from the fiery furnace but knew that it may not have been His will? Instead, will we question why a loving God would allow such a horrible thing to happen? God can do anything, but that does not mean He will. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We must realize that, regardless of the circumstances or the outcome, God is good. However, let us not just say that God is good, but let us truly believe it. God’s goodness does not mean that everything will go our way. It means He knows best; He has a purpose and a plan for everything He allows in our lives. When troubles come—and they will—let us boldly proclaim, “Our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us, but if not, God is still good!”
by Crystal Collingsworth
