He walked into the bible study drunk.  I didn't know his name.  He introduced himself by way of his testimony.  I quickly replied, "Isn't God good."  He said, "Better than that..."

I stood still.  His comment forever shifted the way...

1. I looked at God
2. the boxes I put God in
3. and the unnecessary limits I've put on myself. 

I used to simply be annoyed by the comment, "God is good."  I heard it used mostly in regards to someone or myself getting something that they/I wanted in life.  It was said easily while others went without the very thing we'd/I'd just received.  Is God good to them when they don't have what we just got?  But there is a far greater problem with the comment.  It puts God in a box.  Let me explain.

The difficulty for me with this statement has to do with freedom.  If we are honest, more often than not, when we say God is good it's not uncommon for us to really be saying God is good because I got a new job, my marriage was saved, the tornado did not come this way, the enemy was finally defeated.  But, this kind of thinking begs the question, is God only good when these things happen?  What about when they don't?  What about when the opposite happens?  When we limit God's goodness to our circumstances we actually limit our own sense of freedom and experience of peace, hope and courage in life.  

But the real trouble I have with this comment is the subliminal judgmentalism that can easily slip into it.  It harkens back to a first century mindset that believed when good things happened to people that meant they were good (read God's favor) and when bad things happened to people that meant they were bad (read God's disapproval).  Jesus totally messes with this way of seeing life in Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19 and Phil. 2:6.  Our freedom resides in knowing a God who is good not based on our circumstances but simply because of who God is--radically loving!  Our freedom comes when we can sing vulnerably, candidly, happily or harshly before God knowing yes God is good, in fact, He's better than that!  God loves us far more than our circumstances can ever suggest (good or bad).  Enjoy the freedom of knowing a God who loves us to the core, in our circumstances and beyond them.  Check out this song that speaks to Life Overflowing goodness of God in the here and now.