I hear from time to time people describing something happening to them that is beneficial to them, and then say that God is good. This makes me think about the reasoning to that statement. Doesn't that make the deciding factor as to if God is good, our perception of the situation? If what is beneficial to you is detrimental to me, is God good for one of us and not the other?
God is good outside of anything that does or does not happen in our lives. I believe most people believe this in theory, yet the practice is a far cry from doctrinally sound theology. God is the I am, if he is good, He is good all the time. Goodness is not happiness, it is godliness. I am not looking to mince words, I assure you I am far less concerned with the words as I am with what can happen when we correlate our benefit with God's goodness.
I am not implying that people cannot say that God is good when something good happens to them. Of course He is, but He is every bit as good when the dog has died, the tires are flat, the money is gone, and sickness sets in. Perhaps we should train ourselves to say this regardless of our circumstances and to show the discipline in realizing His goodness amidst disappointment as well as rejoicing.
