“If God is good, why is this happening?” “If God knew, why didn’t He tell us?”
In the wake of the global pandemic, hard questions are rising to the surface of hearts across the world. On social media, those within our faith and those looking from the outside in are asking, “Where is God now?” “How did this happen?” “How is He good even when this is our reality?”

I have some thoughts I’d like to share in hopes of settling some of these big questions. I know some people reading won’t agree. I’m prepared for that. However, I fully believe there is someone who desperately needs these answers. I am praying you can use this post as a resource to share with your friends who are wrestling with uncertainty in times like these.

The first question I’d like to address is:

If God is good, why is this happening?
The answer is both simple and complex. God is good, and the world we live in wasn’t ever supposed be this way. To answer this quesiton, we have to go back to the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:7-17 details the creation of man.

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

 (God breathed His life into us. Wow!)

“The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 Pay attention to this part…

“From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.”

If you’re new to faith, let me offer a quick explanation. God isn’t warning that man would die a physical death on the day that he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but rather an immediate spiritual death where he would no longer have the same relationship with God that he had before. Additionally, if man were to eat from the forbidden tree, man would begin to die a physical death caused by this separation from God. Whereas before, man would simply live forever with God.

So, let’s talk about what we just read. God said that man could eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But in the description of the garden, God mentions another tree – the tree of life.

Go back and read verse again.

“The tree of life also in the midst of the garden…”

If you’re familiar with this story at all, you know that God goes on to create a woman, and then man and woman both eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

They did exactly what God told them NOT to do, and the moment they disobeyed God, they changed their relationship with Him. They had been perfect reflections of God’s glory up to this point, only doing what He taught them to do. But when they disobeyed Him, they stopped being like Him. This meant that God could no longer look at them and only see Himself. This changed everything.

After they ate from the forbidden fruit, God said to Himself in Genesis 3:22-23,

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.”

The first time I read this, I believed that God was punishing man and woman for their disobedience by removing them from His presence. I think of how I discipline my own children sometimes, “You didn’t do what I asked and now you have to go sit in time out.” However, just like we have a reason for putting our children in timeout, God’s true motives for requiring Adam and Eve to leave the garden are far more loving than I first. I understand now that God removed man and woman from the garden in order to protect them.

According to verse 22, access to the tree of life meant access to eternal life.

“he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…”

If man and woman ate from the tree of life after they spiritually separated themselves from God, they would continue to live forever separated from Him. They would never again have the relationship with God that He intended.

God loved us too much to allow us to live forever separated from Him.
Go back and read Genesis 3:22-23, again.

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.”

God loved us too much to allow us to live foreve separated from Him. He wanted the opportunity to redeem mankind through Jesus. It’s the kindness of God that led His children out of the Garden so He could lead them to repentance and reconciliation later on.

Here’s the thing. When sin entered the world, everything broke. Our relationship with God broke. Our bodies broke and now die. Our world broke. Plagues, wars, sickness and death entered our story. But God still desired to be with us in this broken world. He still wanted us back as it had once been.

So, He made it possible for a holy and perfect God to have a relationship with a sinful and broken people by sending His Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice, redeeming all who would believe.

God made a way for us to have access to Him… access we wouldn’t have had without Jesus… even in the midst of darkness and pain and suffering. That is the full evidence of His goodness.

Access to God does not mean the lack of trial, or pain or even death. It simply means, our good God sent His Son, Jesus, so we wouldn’t have to face any of it alone.
He could have just left us all, but He didn’t. He could have said, “This isn’t worth it. They aren’t worth it,” and started over. But from the beginning of time, since He created the world, He has been working to bring us back to Him.

The evidence of God’s goodness isn’t revealed by the absence of brokenness and pain, but in the presence of God who enters our brokenness and pain and refuses to abandon us in it.
Why doesn’t God stop it all? Because until Jesus returns to this earth, which Scripture says will happen one day, we will all walk a very dark and broken world… a version of the world that God never intended for us to live in. Our mission as Christians? Is to tell the world they never have to spend a day of their lives alone.

The next question is:

If God knew this was coming, why didn’t He tell us or prepare us?

He did. He told us in John 16:33 that we would have troubles. But He doesn’t always tell us when big trials will come because He loves us. He spares us the weight of knowing more than our hearts can handle.

When Jesus was telling His disciples goodbye, He said to them in John 16,

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

The Truth is, Jesus was fully aware of everything they were about to witness. He knew that they would watch as He was wrongly accused, tortured, and unjustly crucified. He knew that they would watch Him hang on a gory cross with a crown of two-inch thorns pressed into his brow. He knew that He would be mocked, ridiculed, and eventually impaled and placed in a borrowed tomb.

Jesus knew that His followers needed to be prepared for what was coming, but He knew that they couldn’t handle the weight of the details. He also knew what was coming for each of them eventually. He knew that many of them would die horrible deaths as well.

But He knew that when they saw Him come back from the dead, when they witnessed not only His death, but His resurrection, they would be able to face anything.

There are some things that Jesus doesn’t tell us because He knows it is too much for us, but He doesn’t leave us without counsel during this time. He sends His Holy Spirit to guide us.
This is still one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit in our lives today. He reveals the Truth to us in ways that we can handle, strengthens us for the journey ahead, and equips us to face what is still coming.

I know that sometimes we want answers, and we want answers now. We want to know exactly how it all plays out. We want to know not just want to do next, but how to prepare for the years ahead. And sometimes, we wonder why if God is good and if He really loves us, He won’t tell us. But sometimes the proof of His love is in His withholding of details.

Sometimes, Jesus says to us, “It’s too much for you to bear, daughter. It’s too much for you to know right now, son. Because I do know what is coming, I’m asking you to trust me right here. I’m asking you to trust me with what I have told you already. I’m asking you to wait for the Holy Spirit to reveal what’s next in a way that you can process and move forward safely. Just because I’m not telling you, doesn’t mean that I don’t know. I know enough– and I know you enough to know that it would be too much.”

In these moments, the best response of our hearts isn’t to beg for details, but praise the Lord for His merciful silence that leads us steadily on.
There is hope in the midst of all of this, and that is in knowing we have a good God who never leaves us. He never stops paying attention to us. He never grows tired of hearing from us. He paid the ultimate price just to be with us. Ask Him to sit with you awhile. I promise that He would love nothing more.

My prayer for you, friends, is that you would find hope and comfort in some of these answers. Pray, read your Bible, ask God to speak directly to you. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out or contact your local church leadership. Share to pass this on, and then tell me your thoughts in the comments.

So much love,
Becky

Note: Some of this text comes from my book, Truth Unchanging: Hearing God Daily in the Midst of Motherhood. Find out more here.

It was windy that night. I’m not sure how windy. The story doesn’t say. Scripture just says the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.

You know this story. It’s the one where Jesus (and Peter) walk on water. Remember?

Jesus’s disciples are in a boat making their way to the other side of the lake when Jesus catches up to them. The guys in the boat see Him walking on the water and they’re afraid He’s a ghost.

When Jesus calls out to them, “It’s Me! Don’t be afraid,” Peter recognizes His voice and responds.

“Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to You on the water.”

Jesus replies, “Come.”

And Peter climbs out of the boat and starts walking to Jesus.

You know, I wonder why we don’t spend more time cheering that Peter was brave enough to climb out of a boat and attempt to walk on water and why we spend so much time talking about the sinking part.

But we do.

Maybe because sinking is more relatable than walking.

Maybe because big brave hard things aren’t as common as finding ourselves in a situation where we need Jesus to rescue us. Right?

Maybe it is because at some point, we all sink.

But that’s right where I want to pause with this story. Because have you ever really considered what it must have been like to be standing next to Jesus one moment and neck deep in water the next? (Maybe you feel like that now.)

Let’s imagine it. Peter begins to go down, looks up at Jesus and cries out, “Lord! Save me!”

And Scripture says that Jesus reached out and caught him.

I wish Scripture was more clear about what happened next. But here is what I guess took place. I don’t think they swam back to the boat. I don’t think Jesus walked on the water while dragging Peter through the water by his arm. Can you even imagine how ridiculous that would be!?

I think that Jesus lifted Peter up out of the water, and they walked back to the boat together.

I think Peter climbed into the boat wet… and I believe that he never forgot the importance of having someone reach down and pull you up.

Maybe you feel like Peter right now. You feel like you’re about to be in over your head and everyone you know is watching you go down. You feel like you just can’t keep up, keep your eyes on Jesus… even though you know that’s what you’re supposed to be doing.

All of the reminders that Jesus is just in front of you and to keep your eyes on Him aren’t working… and the wind and waves are very real.

You are overwhelmed… and all you can do is shout, “Lord! Save me!”

If that’s you, can I tell you some Truth right now? Sinking sucks. But there is something powerful that happens when you are pulled from the water.

… when you have the opportunity to see Jesus as One who will stand over you and pull you from the water… In that moment, you learn how to do something you wouldn’t know the true importance of otherwise.

You learn how to pull others to their feet.

Not long after that night and shortly after Jesus went to Heaven, Peter and his friend, John, were going to the Temple to pray one afternoon. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in.

Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us! I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

I wonder if Peter remembered the night in water as he stood over that crippled man.

I wonder if he thought of how Jesus had stood over him the same way. I wonder if he saw himself in the face of that man.

And I wonder if the moment Peter reached down and extended his arm to lift that man to his feet if he felt the the power of God moving through his hand the same way Jesus had.

Friend, I have no clue why you feel like you’re sinking. I have no idea if it’s kids or money or your marriage or your job or your health… or if it is all of it.

But I know this, someday when you’re back on your feet (because one day you will be) you’re going to need to know how to reach down and pull someone else from where you are today.

Someone is going to need to know how the Lord got you out of this.

So, to the woman who feels like she’s sinking… take notes. There are just some things you can only learn from being someone who sank.

This is an excerpt of a journal I created for you called My Real Story: One Year to Record, Reflect and Remember. You can learn more about it below.