Is God Still Good When Things Go Wrong?

I’ve been studying through the book of Job recently, and have just started wading through the long series of discourses between Job and his three friends.

The first to speak is Eliphaz, who starts off sounding pretty good. But he takes a truth and tries to stuff it into the mold of his own ideas. Look at what he says:

“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. But He saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.” (5:8-16)

His point is that God is sovereign and rewards good. Sounds right so far, doesn’t it? And he goes on:

“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For He maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and His hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine He shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season. Lo, this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.” (5:17-26)

Eliphaz gives some good advice, and what he says about the chastening of the Lord is echoed in Proverbs 3:11-12 and Hebrews 12:5-6. But did you notice where he went wrong? The key is to remember who this speech was addressed to.

Eliphaz promises Job that if he seeks God, he will have deliverance from trouble, protection from famine and foes, gossip and destruction. He tells Job that if he seeks God, his children shall be as the grass of the earth, and that he will have a long, full, healthy life.

But Job was sitting there, living proof that wasn’t true. He had sought God—so much so that God Himself had singled him out as one who was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1,8) A quick readthrough of the first chapter of Job will show that he was dedicated and faithful in his seeking after God.

But he still suffered. He still lost everything. and now he sat in intense physical pain, covered with boils from head to toe. He had lost livestock, crops, servants, and every single one of his children—all in one day. Now Eliphaz tells him to just seek the Lord and he will abound in all of those things the Lord Himself had taken away?

This is where the prosperity gospel gets it wrong. Seeking God isn’t a talisman against trouble. It doesn’t guarantee an easy life—in fact, Jesus Himself tells us to expect tribulation. (John16:33)

So, what do we do with the truth that God is good, when we find ourselves, like Job, sitting in the middle of circumstances that seem to prove just the opposite? I think Jeremiah’s words from Lamentations 3 can help us sort it all out.

In the midst of his own suffering, having watched the people he loved killed or taken into captivity, having watched the temple—the very symbol of God’s presence with His people destroyed, Jeremiah writes a lament of all that his people has lost because of their sin.

And yet, Jeremiah had sought the Lord—surely there were even a few other faithful Israelites who had not followed the rest into idolatry and rebellion against God. So what about God’s goodness to them? This passage is remarkable, given the context in which it was written:

“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” (vv.24-25)

Just like Eliphaz, Jeremiah’s solution to suffering was to seek the Lord—because is good to those who seek Him. But unlike Eliphaz, Jeremiah didn’t try to push his definition of “good” onto the situation. Instead, we have here God’s inspired definition of what His goodness looks like:

 “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.” (vv.26-30)

Waiting, bearing burdens, sitting alone in silence, humbling ourselves, giving our cheeks to those who smite us, being filled with reproach—none of this seems good to me.

Except God Himself says it is good. Romans 5 gives us the bigger picture:

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (5:1-5)

Tribulations—those things in our lives that don’t seem very “good”—are never pointless. In fact, this passage reminds us that tribulations and hope go hand in hand.

Jeremiah had a heart of hope in the midst of tribulation. But his hope is not founded on some vague belief that seeking God will remove all his problems: instead, he founds his hope in the character of God.

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” (3:21-23)

And later, he reminds us that God is just and compassionate. He isn’t just devising ways to make us suffer—What He allows is always for our good.

“For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. To crush under His feet all the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.” (3:31-36)

God doesn’t want us to fail, or to suffer beyond that which is necessary to make us more like Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

And as Romans 5 showed us, in Christ, we have access to the grace of God—grace which enables us to endure tribulations and still “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (v.2)

Job’s troubles were not the outpouring of God’s judgment on sin—but in a sense, neither were Jeremiah’s. In both cases, these faithful men were suffering even though they had not done anything to warrant God’s judgment.

Both were sinners, yes, and in a sense they were worthy of God’s wrath—but both were in fellowship with God, obeying, seeking, confessing sin and getting it right with God.

Though they were right with God, they did still endure suffering—but God allowed that suffering for a purpose.

In Job’s case, it brought him to a far deeper understanding of the greatness, wisdom, and power of God, and the expression of his faith in the midst of deep sorrow gives an example to God’s people to this day, encouraging us that we can still trust God even when we don’t understand why we are suffering.

Jeremiah’s sorrow brought him close to the heart of God, and gave us one of the most beautiful expressions of God’s faithfulness and mercy. His lament expresses his sorrow at what had been lost, yet teaches us that God is faithful—even when we suffer—and that His justice is always tempered with mercy.

Dear Reader, what does this all mean for you? When life gets hard and things go wrong, remember that God is good. He is merciful, and He only allows things into our lives that He already intends (and is able) to use for our good.

When you find yourself feeling like Job or Jeremiah, follow that first part of Eliphaz’s advice—seek the Lord—but remember that you are not guaranteed an easy life. And remember also that God has promised to be with you in the midst of any tribulations or suffering He calls you to experience.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isaiah 43:2)