"God is Good", "#Blessed" and Other Things We Say When Things Go Our Way....

The other day, a close friend of mine sent me a text telling me that they had been able to purchase a new car. When I heard, I congratulated him heartily as I knew the circumstances behind needing a new car had been very stressful (a frightening car accident where the old car was totaled). Somewhere in the conversation, my friend wrote the following:

"I'm definitely thankful for being able to get this car today! God is very good!"

When I read the text, I found myself strangely reactive to the phrase "God is good" and I stopped for a moment to consider why that was. As I considered my negative reaction to what I believe is a positive and true statement, I began to recall other times I have heard or seen people use that phrase and it's often through social media.

"I bought a house! God is good!" ,"I got a promotion! #blessed", "We're having a baby! Glory to God!". People seem to say phrases like that when something really good happens, especially things that are esteemed by our culture like material gains and familial stability. When I was going through the roughest times of my battle with physical pain/mobility and depression, I would see people posting things like that and think "Why is God good to them, but not to me?"

In spite of my feelings of discomfort with these sorts of statements, I do think that it is right and good for us to praise God when things go well. James 1:17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." That verse reminds us that anything good that happens to us is a gift from God, not something that we should use to glorify or praise ourselves. Even our personal accomplishments, like completing a PHD program or winning an award are not things we can fully claim as our own. If you are brilliant, God has blessed you with that brilliance. If you are hardworking, God created you with that drive. Yes, you should feel proud of the work you put in to achieve your goals and dreams, but at the end of the day those things are gifts from God. However, when I see people using phrases like "God is good" and "#Blessed" on social media, it sometimes seems like often they are looking to glorify themselves more than the Lord. I think of it as "holy bragging" and honestly even though I'm out here writing this long blog post about how much I dislike it , I'm sure I have been guilty of doing it at some point, myself.

And what about when things are going really badly? When you lose a loved one to cancer? When you lose a child due to miscarriage? When disease or injury snatches away your mobility? When your marriage falls apart? What then? I rarely see anyone posting something like "We just got divorced. God is good", "In the hospital again. #Blessed". But is God any less good in these times? Of course not!

As the little saying goes "God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!". As I reflect on this, the following verses come to mind.

"Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." -Habakkuk 3:17-18

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; " -Job 3:15

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

-Romans 5:3-5

So should we stop using these phrases all together? Should we never post on social media about good things that happen to us? I don't necessarily think we need to go that far! However, I do think we should be cognizant of the messages we are sending, especially to people who don't yet know God when we use "praising God" as an excuse for holy bragging. I think it's important to be open with our friends, family, and followers about where God meets us in the hard times as well as in the good times. We should be careful not to take credit for things that are gifts from God and not to use phrases that seem to glorify God as a way to get attention and glorify ourselves.

More than anything, I think it matters where our hearts are at. For my friend, I knew his heart was in a place of honestly wanting to thank God because this person was also thanking God for his provision of safety when the car accident happened in the first place. So yes, praise God when you get the new car, but praise Him too when you get in the car accident because even when our circumstances do not seem to reflect it, the truth is--He is always good.

<3 LM