How can God be good?
Two of my friends were going through difficult life situations and were in desperate need of help.
Gossip. Badmouthing. Backstabbing. Family problems. Loss of identity. Battling with addictions. Broken relationships. The list goes on. When things didn’t seem to get better, they felt like God had abandoned them.
They told me that they couldn’t believe that God was good since these things were happening to them. I knew that this wasn’t the truth, but I didn’t know how to articulate it to them.
I remember asking God questions like: “Why won’t You show Yourself to them? Why won’t You bring them back to You?”
I felt really hopeless. I was powerless to help the both of them. That night, I went home feeling defeated.
So I began to pray. I asked God to give me the wisdom to understand how to help them and how to declare the truth that God is good over their lives.
God, is there more I can do for them?
While I knew the power of prayer, I felt so burdened at that moment that a simple prayer wouldn’t suffice.
Then I heard God say, “Sing over them.”
He then led me to write a song that described His faithfulness, that spoke of how He is good despite our present circumstances. I wrote this song, For My Good, thinking about my friends and what they would say to God. It was my prayer for them in song.
Let them know that You are working for their good.
In Matthew 14:22-33, there is the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter venturing out of the boat to meet Him.
I was reminded of how God has never left us, and he never leaves us in the hurting. And time after time despite our unfaithfulness, He is still faithful. Despite the inevitable seasons of “rough waves” in life, For My Good is a reminder that God still holds our hands and is with us in the storm.
In bleak circumstances like my friends’ arises a desperate need for a “light” to come and show them the way out. It is my wish that a day will come when my friends will run back to God after knowing and experiencing His goodness once again; that they will soar on eagle’s wings, regardless of what has happened to them.
I think back to a season in my life that forced me to confront what God’s goodness is all about to me.
Four years ago, I was thrown into a challenging family situation that I had to deal with alone. This was followed by two years of constant struggling that felt like forever. At that time, I found myself asking God the same question my friends are asking now: “Why? If You are good, why let this happen?”
Looking back, I think God allowed me to go through those two years to deepen my understanding of who He is and what His goodness means to me. I realised that His goodness is never circumstantial. I now see that God is good, regardless of whether I see/feel/believe it. He is there holding me through it all.
I have come to understand that bad things in life aren’t the result of an “evil God”. We live in a broken world with broken people who make broken decisions. God isn’t to blame and there is beauty knowing He’s with me through it all.
In 2019, I enrolled myself in a songwriting class with Awaken Generation. When I first presented this song in class, I felt really insecure. And as I sat there listening to the other songs being presented, I felt worse.
But I realise that I was just standing in the way of God. I received texts after my presentation that my classmates were moved by the spirit behind the song and not the standard of it. I was even asked to present this at our showcase!
So here I stand today, presenting whatever I have as an offering to God. My prayer is that God will use this song to minister to those who desperately need hope and assurance. My role is to just be a vessel for His message.
We worship a God who is truly good. For My Good is a faith declaration of our victory in God, remembering that He is the one who brings us out of the valleys. All of our days, He is good.
Applications for the Awaken Generation 2020 cohort are now closed, but you can still apply to their waitlist for a chance to enrol in case any spots open up.
