Our text is Psalm 34:8
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
It has almost become a fad for people to say, “God is Good.” More than a few will follow this with “God is always Good.” The words have a pleasant sound to our ears because we know them to be true. Of course there are skeptics who love to point out the pain in life and say God is not good!
God could get rid of all pain. He promises to do that in heaven. But what if you could get rid of all pain now, would you? The seemingly easy response is yes! Even an emphatic yes. Wiser people would say no. Pain is necessary for the good life here.
Look, I get that there is some pain that is hard and we would do all we could to stop it, but sometimes pain serves a purpose.
First, pain is a warning sign against danger. Do you know the story of the death of Robert Wadlow? In 1940, at 22, he was just a little over 8’11” tall. He died of a blister on his foot. He was so tall that he could not feel the blister or any pain in his feet. The blister became infected, and he died. Pain can warn us of danger.
Second, pain helps us grow. I love the statement, “The bumps are what we climb on.” A steep, iced-over driveway is smooth. Yes, it is smooth, but you can’t use such a driveway. In life, there are painful rough spots that give us traction and help us grow.
Finally, pain here makes us long for eternity. There are some who are so in love with life here that they do not ever want to go to heaven there. We love mountains, sunsets, and winding rivers, but as we get older, we grow more and more ready to live in heaven with God.
Yes, God is Good. God is Good Always. It is not just a meme. It is a fact.
Lonnie Davis