And If Not…

Have you ever seen this quote: “and if not, He is still good.” ? It’s a little abbreviation of a passage in Daniel. Anyway, it’s always all over Pinterest and Instagram. And it’s one of those quotes that we all see and kind of passively believe. But, do we actually put this little quote into practice?

I mean I have, I guess. But all my “if nots” have been small trivial problems. Things that are easy to get over.

If I don’t pass this quiz God is still good

If I don’t get this parking spot, God is still good. 

If this customer isn’t nice to me, that’s okay God is still good. 

What’s happens when our “if not’s” become bigger. More devastating. Harder to understand. Harder to get over? 

If my dad goes another year without a job, is God still good? 

If my parents can’t fix their marriage, is God still good? 

If I have to watch a person I love die, is God still good? 

The is answer is the same, but harder to believe. 

What happens in the moments where you can’t help but wonder why a good person would allow bad things to happen.

On a Thursday evening, I received a text that I was being kicked out of my apartment. I had 24 hours to remove my stuff or it was all going to be dumped.

There were so many emotions. I felt so many emotions. Everything from anger to sadness to hopelessness. And as I was trying to make sense of the situation, I found myself asking is God still good? Was I going to be overtaken by the enormous wave that was my current situation? Or was I going to rest in the goodness of my God?

I had to remind myself of His nature. Do you know what the most assuring thing about our God is? He is consistent. He is permanent. He remains the same. He does not change. In fact, He cannot change.

So if He is good in the good times, He is good in the bad times. Simply because He does not change.

That honestly should calm any anxiety and solve any worry. Our God is invariable. Yes, He is good. He is always good.

That night, I sat in my car (and cried.), but in the end, I told God that even though I didn’t understand, I was going to trust Him. And by the next night, none of my things were dumped. I even got to keep my apartment.

So, my answer is yes, if not, my God is still infinitely, unmeasurably, good.