In many churches, we know the familiar call and response: “God is good…” and someone answers, “all the time. God is good, all the time.” It is simple, memorable, and true. But it is more than a phrase we repeat on Sundays; it is an anchor for the soul. God is not partly good or occasionally good. He is completely, perfectly, and eternally good. Every part of His character is good, every purpose of His heart is good, and every gift He gives is shaped by goodness toward those who love Him.
And yet, three years ago in the summer of 2023, I found myself standing in a place where that truth felt almost impossible to hold. Our daughter, Sarah, had passed away nearly three months earlier, and Rachel was in the hospital for what would become a stay lasting several weeks. The grief was heavy. The pain was sharp. The loneliness felt deeper than anything I had ever known. I knew God was good, but I was also carrying a sorrow that seemed too heavy to explain. How could both be true at the same time? That question began a three-year journey through Scripture, searching for how God’s goodness meets us in suffering. What I discovered then—and continue to see again and again—is what I am sharing in the God Is blog: God met me in the pain, and He continues to meet me through His Word with goodness that is deeper, steadier, and more faithful than I could have imagined.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Rom 8:28-32
Romans 8 is where my search began. I knew God had promised that all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). But as I continued reading, I began to see that God’s “good” is far deeper than relief from pain or a change in circumstances. His good purpose includes conforming us to the image of His Son. Hebrews 12:5–8 also reminded me that the Lord’s discipline is not the rejection of an angry Father, but the loving correction of a faithful one. Romans 5:3–8 shows that suffering can produce endurance, endurance can shape character, and character can give birth to hope—all within the greater love of Christ, who died for us. James speaks of trials in a similar way, teaching that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness, and that steadfastness, when allowed to complete its work, makes us mature, complete, and lacking nothing.
Taken together, these passages reminded me that God often reveals His goodness most clearly in the places where we feel weakest. Suffering is not usually a punishment; more often, it is a holy process through which God refines, shapes, and strengthens us. In His mercy, He uses even painful seasons to form us into men and women who increasingly reflect the character, humility, endurance, and obedience of Jesus Christ. This, too, is part of the goodness of God—not merely that He gives comfort, but that He graciously works within us to make us more like His Son.
I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship. (Ph 4:13-14 CSB)
Another beautiful purpose of God’s goodness is revealed through relationships—our relationship with Him and our relationships within the church. The Apostle Paul understood this deeply. When he wrote to the Philippian church, a congregation he had started, he testified that Christ strengthened him in every circumstance. Yet Paul also recognized the goodness of God expressed through the church’s partnership with him in hardship. Their love, generosity, and fellowship were not small things; they were holy expressions of God’s care. Suffering often draws us nearer to the Giver of all good things, teaching us to depend on Him with humility and continual trust. While many people imagine God mainly as angry, distant, or eager to punish, the God revealed in Scripture is holy, gracious, and relational. He calls us His friends (John 15:15), and He lovingly invites us into fellowship with Himself, saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20) with a desire to come in and eat with us in personal fellowship.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 Jn 3:17-18)
Our love for one another grows out of God’s love for us. Because He first entered into relationship with us, we are called to enter more deeply into relationship with one another. Suffering is not meant to be carried alone. God often meets our pain through the presence, prayers, generosity, and faithfulness of His people. The love of Christ becomes visible when the church draws near to those who are hurting—not only with words, but with practical help, compassion, and shared burdens. In our own lives, we have seen how the comfort we received from others in our suffering became a gift God later used to help us comfort others in theirs. This is the beautiful pattern Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1:3–7: God comforts us in our affliction so that, through the comfort we have received from Him, we may become instruments of comfort to others.
In the end, God’s goodness is not a shallow phrase meant only for easy days; it is a holy and faithful truth that holds us even in sorrow. Through grief, suffering, Scripture, and the love of His people, God reveals that His goodness is both deeply personal and eternally purposeful. He comforts us in our pain, shapes us to become more like Christ, draws us into closer fellowship with Himself, and teaches us to carry one another’s burdens in the church. What I started to learn then and continue to learn is that God’s goodness does not always remove suffering immediately, but it meets us within it, sustains us through it, and transforms it into a place where His grace, love, and faithfulness can be seen more clearly.
Challenge Questions for Reflection
- When I say, “God is good,” do I believe that only when life feels peaceful, or can I trust His goodness even when suffering remains unresolved?
- How might God be using a painful season to shape my character, deepen my faith, and make me more like Christ?
- Am I allowing my relationship with God to draw me closer to others, or have I tried to carry grief, disappointment, or hardship alone?
- Who around me may need to experience God’s goodness through my presence, prayers, compassion, generosity, or willingness to help carry their burden?
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