Always. Good. Love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have prayed when Karen starts to get a migraine, “Father, heal Karen’s migraine in Jesus name.”

And we have thanked and praised Him for His always-good love as the headache that typically becomes a migraine fades away. I have also prayed against a coming migraine and watched, feeling helpless, as Karen still gets a migraine. And yet, while she is in pain, we have hurdled the disappointment and thanked and praised our Father for His always-good love.

We have trusted our Father in our finances, risking everything to start a company. Karen and I watched God come through miraculously giving us favor and increase. As the company prospered, we thanked and praised our Father for His always-good love.

We have trusted our Father completely in our finances, risking everything and losing the company. Karen and I have hurdled the disappointment of a failed business and substantial debt. And as we wondered how to pay the mounting bills, we thanked and praised Him for His always-good love.

We have prayed “Lord protect this pregnancy and our child” when a heartbeat couldn’t be found. We celebrated days later in the doctor’s office when life was discovered and again when our first daughter Madeleine was handed into the thankful waiting arms of a tearfully joyful new mother and father.

We have also prayed “Lord protect our child and this pregnancy” when complications became obvious. And weeks later we stood in the doctor’s office, grief in our eyes, as the devastating news was gently broken. On this journey of faith, we are learning, even in the midst of heartache, to trust in our Dad’s always-good love.

We are becoming convinced that His love is perfect, always good. We made a decision years ago that has empowered this conviction, even in the midst of heartache, disappointment, and death – God gets all the credit for every good thing in our lives and none of the blame when things go wrong.

This foundational thought has freed and empowered us to trust Him; it has released grace to hurdle heartbreaking disappointment. It has led us into a deep friendship with Father God. This thought has been transformative; it has renewed our minds. In every circumstance of life, every need, every disappointment, we are learning that we can choose to see His always-good love for us. And when we can’t see it, we can choose to believe until we can.

When we measure our Fathers good love by our interpretation of a need met, we will eventually be forced to re-define His good love. God is love and He is always good – period. The moment His goodness must be re-defined, He is no longer always good. If we define His love by a need met, then if at some point the need appears to go unmet, we set ourselves up for a crisis of faith.

It’s about faith. And faith believes when there is no evidence. Faith is about trust. Faith believes that He loves us and His love is perfect – always good. It’s our trust in our Fathers always-good love that empowers us to hurdle pain, loss, disappointment and even death – to still believe.

Faith believes His love is always good. Faith believes we exist to know and experience His always-good love. And this faith sets us up to know Him more and grow sure. Until we are “convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39


Jason Clark
is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.

3 Comments

  1. Renee'

    A-MEN! It's so easy to say "God is good" when "good" things happen. All the more important is to remember that God is good… period.

    Reply
  2. ninaruth

    A thousand times YES! Tonight I was just crying out to Him honestly & telling Him "I don't get it" in regards to so much I'd obeyed Him in & yet still things didn't work out/needs haven't been met…and all I could do was just raise my hands in weakness, brokenness & with so many questions…and just sing along with some great songs: (Gungor: "Beautiful Things," Chris Tomlin: "I Lift My Hands" (so poignant, especially the video), Twila Paris: "I Will Listen," etc.) & it's a Hebrews 13:15 moment for sure…a SACRIFICE of praise. Anyone can praise God when things are going "well" (even unbelievers!) but ONLY those who know His deep love & grace, can, by the power of His Holy Spirit, raise up feeble hands & say, "I don't get this, but even in my hurt towards You, I still love You, Father." Thank You, Abba!

    Reply
  3. Jason Clark

    Yes! That I would know more your always good love!

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE…

Ask The Question

Every sincere question is an invitation into a transformative answer. The honest questions resonate in heaven and pull heaven to earth!

How to Read the Bible (Part 1)

Jesus is my lens, my true narrative. His perfect love is my conviction. His goodness is my faith. Every question I have, every relationship or circumstance, every scripture, including the tension Job represents, is measured against the measureless revelation of Jesus.

Escape from the Doldrums

Every test by God is an invitation to transition from one narrative to another, from control to love, from orphan to son or daughter, from bondage to freedom, from fractured thinking to wholeness, from our perspective to His, from our best thoughts about who He is, to the truth about who He is, from our story, to the whole story; the one He is telling.

NAEEM FAZAL / REIMAGINING GOD

Naeem Fazal, founding pastor of Mosaic Church, and author of Ex-Muslim, talks about deconstruction or reimaging God. Naeem talks about the importance of being able to recognize God outside of our personal context, how to view sin, how to approach scripture, and a beautiful gospel that’s not just about a Jesus who saves but about a Jesus who is restoring humanity and all creation.

Here’s To Bigger Dreams

I continue to discover that Acts 2:17 is true, dreaming is an old man’s game, but the older I get the more I discover that only children can truly play it. Dreaming is for children who have chased down vision, failed, lived through disillusionment, disappointment, loss, sorrow, and endless rejection, and still surrender their hearts to the wonder, innocence, kindness, and goodness of Love…

The End Of Hierarchy In The Church

But the Brian Simmons Passion Translation of that verse is my favorite, and I think it’s infinitely more accurate—not based on my academic prowess but on what I know about love.

It reads, “I have never called you ‘servants’… But I call you my most intimate friends….”

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share This

Share this post with your friends!