God is Good...All the Time!

Last night as I was going home from work, my car wouldn’t start. At first it acted like it was trying to start. Then nothing. As unfortunate as this may be, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. Both of our vehicles have over 180,000 miles on them, and while we do enjoy the lack of a car payment, it does sometimes seem as though we ought to earn frequent flier miles at the repair shop. And it’s never fun nor convenient to have a car in the shop.

Strike one.

Well, I called the shop that we frequent and told them I was going to have our vehicle towed over. They told me Tuesday was completely full, and that while they would try to squeeze it in, it would most likely be Wednesday before they even got to look at it.

Strike two.

I figured there was no sense in waiting an indefinite period of time after work for a tow truck to show up when I could just have them come get it the next morning when I was already going to be there anyway. So this morning my wfe gave me a ride to work. As she dropped me off she suggested, “Go see if it starts.” I reluctantly pulled out my keys, stuck them in the ignition, and what do you know? It started right up. No problem.

My response: God is good!

If they had been able to fit me in last night, I would have wasted time and money waiting for the tow truck and having the shop look at and fix my vehicle. Of course, I realize there is the very real possibility (probability?) that it won’t start later today. And if that’s the case, then you know what? God is still good.

I say this because God’s goodness toward me is not determined by my circumstances. While there will be times when everything seems to be going my way, there will also be times when it seems that all the world is against me. God’s word promises as much. (e.g., John 16:33)

Whether I am up or down though, instead of looking at my circumstances to determine whether God loves me, I need to take to heart the words of Hebrews 12:2, and look “to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." For if he was willing to endure the cross in my place, with all its shame and scorn, its pain and suffering, then I can be sure of his love and his goodness toward me. And so can you. Even when your car doesn’t start.

Responding to Trials

What is your response to trials in your life? Whether they are big or small, I know that my natural reaction is to be discouraged by them. Even when I have passed through whatever difficult situations I might face, there is a tendency on my part simply to be wearied. On my best days, I might be thankful to God for getting me through it, but there is no question that I would have rather avoided the situation altogether.

D.A. Carson suggests that my response to trials ought to be altogether different. In his daily blog last Friday, Carson made the following observation from Psalm 66:8-12:

There the psalmist begins by inviting the peoples of the world to listen in on the people of God as they praise him because “he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.” Then the psalmist directly addresses God, and mentions the context in which the Lord God preserved them: “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance” (66:10 -12).

This is stunning. The psalmist thanks God for testing his covenant people, for refining them under the pressure of some extraordinarily difficult circumstances and for sustaining them through that experience. This is the response of perceptive, godly faith. It is not heard on the lips of those who thank God only when they escape trial or are feeling happy.

This is the same kind of thought we find in James 1:2-4 - "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Okay. It's great to say that I should do this. But the reality is that I don't. How do I get from where I am to where I should be? The answer lies (as so often is the case) in the Gospel. As I consider the trials that Christ Jesus endured for me, primarily in his sacrificial death on our behalf, I realize a number of things:

• My trials are relatively small compared to those of Christ, who gave up everything so that we might know him.
• Just as God was faithful and trustworthy to provide the way to salvation, so too he is faithful and trustworthy in the midst of my trials.
• Though I may lack the ability by my own strength to have the right mindset, Christ who lives in me has demonstrated that he lacks nothing, and by the Holy Spirit he empowers me to do his will by his strength, not my own.
• My trials are passing, but there lies in store for me an eternal crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12).
  

In light of these facts, may we all have the type of attitude toward trials that is described in 1 Peter 1:6-7 - "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."