God's Goodness in Affliction
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
April 8, 2026
Praying Friends,
We often speak of the goodness of God when life is going well.
We get a promotion: “God is good!”
We get back from a relaxing two-week vacation: “God is good!”
We (you) bench-pressed 200 pounds and hardly broke a sweat: “God is good!”
And it’s true. Acknowledging God’s goodness in happy, joyful, successful times is important.
What about the difficult times? Do we recognize His goodness when life seems to be going wrong? An accident, an illness, a setback, a death, a bad day, or all of the above? Or do we forget to acknowledge that God is good?
The truth is, there has never been a time when God was not good. It is His nature, and the psalmist gives expression to it in the ninth section of Psalm 119, representing the Hebrew letter “Teth” found from verses 65-72 (NIV):
Do good to your servant according to your word, LORD. Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
The ESV rendering of verse 65 says, “You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word,” which indicates a look back at the goodness of God in the past. This was the anchor of the author’s life.
Faith needs a solid foundation on which to build and grow. The goodness of God is not a mere sentimental feeling, it is His very nature, and so we, like the psalmist, can reflect on God’s goodness in our lives. It will strengthen our faith.
The psalmist reminds us of the principle that actions flow out from within. They don’t just happen in a vacuum. The good things that God has done and will do result from His character of goodness. The same is true for us!
The more we get to know our God, the more we live in closeness with Him, the more we will emulate who He is.
The goodness of God extends even to the difficulties and trials that come into our lives. The writer says in verse 71, “It was good for me to be afflicted.” It seemed from verse 67 that he was going in a direction that was not good or that maybe he was becoming cold in heart.
God brought something into his life that was grievous and it caused him to turn back to God. While the experience may not have been pleasant, he recognized the hand of God in it.
The “good” is not in the pain itself but in its outcome, which in this verse is a deeper understanding of God’s statutes. The psalmist understands that the affliction is not pleasant, but it is profitable. This suggests that he sees hardship as an instrument of sanctification.
James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” This takes a great level of maturity. Can we get to the point where we can call suffering good, because of what it has taught us? This challenges us to measure good not by comfort, but by conformity to Christ.
As we pray for revival and for our prodigals, may God help us to experience the goodness of God more deeply.
Warmly in Christ’s name,
Bryan and Rachel
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