God Is Bringing Good From What Appears To Be Bad

In yesterday’s post I shared three reasons why I believe God is not surprised at the outbreak of COVID-19: God is God, God is perfect, and God is good. Today we’re zeroing in on the last of those three and how I believe God is bringing good from what appears to be bad.

Yes, God is good. He’s a good Father, our King, our Rock, and our Creator. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He loves us more than anyone else ever possibly could. And, He desires us to walk closely with Him through this life and live with Him forever in the next. Nothing is beyond His grasp. And, nothing is beyond His goodness. He extends to us His grace, mercy, love, and hope. (And a whole lot more!)

God is also good at bringing good from what appears to be bad.

We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.

Romans 8:28 VOICE

This season of life feels very bad, doesn’t it? This pandemic has caused all sorts of problems and issues, let alone threatening our very lives (and the lives of our loved ones)! It’s an uncertain, unnerving, unprecedented time. It’s easy to see the bad every day, isn’t it? We don’t have to look too far. It’s in the headlines, in our social feeds, on t.v., and on our computer screens. And, it feels as if the bad is getting closer and closer by the minute.

Yes, it’s bad. But, let’s look for the good.

The thing is, we will steer where we stare. If we stare at the bad, our minds will go there. If we let what’s bad continue to fill our minds, we can end up in a very dark, desperate, delusional place. How do I know? Because I was there a few times last week and it’s awful. You don’t want to go there.

But, if we stare at the good, our minds will follow. And so will our attitudes, our perspectives, and our actions.

So, let’s make a pact right here, right now. That we’ll allow ourselves 15-20 minutes a day to read the headlines, the news, the social feeds about what’s going on so we can receive information. But, that’s it. No more than that. The rest of the day, let’s look for God’s good. Let’s look for the goodness He’s showing us. The gifts He’s bringing into our lives. The grace with which He’s showering us. It’s there. Sometimes we just need to look for it.

I’m guessing you have seen God’s goodness already somewhere, somehow through this experience. Where? What good have you witnessed? Have you seen people come together, even though we’re social distancing? How have you seen good in your workplace, your home, your communities?

Where have you seen God’s good?

Our little Iowa town, population 526, is coming together during this time of social distancing. This is the town I grew up in since 5th grade and graduated from its high school. (I had 27 in my graduating class. Yeah, I know. That’s crazy. But it was awesome!) It’s the town I still live in it’s rural area today and where I call “home,” even though I live a mile south of it. Because of one person’s idea, this community is bonding together, and the entire community is getting involved… the young, the mature, the in-towners, and the rural folk, like me.

One person threw out the idea in a Facebook group to do a window scavenger hunt with a theme for every other day. Monday’s theme was a sun. Today’s theme is a flower/plant. Those participating today will put some sort of flower or plant in a window in their home that faces the road. Others/families can drive by throughout the day to try to spot the flower/plant. Like a scavenger hunt! Fun, huh?

When I received the invitation on Monday, I got excited for a second, until I thought, “No one will ever drive out here. There’s no point in me participating.” (We never get trick-or-treaters at Halloween either.) Until I saw our neighbor, who lives 1/4 of a mile away from us, share in her Facebook post on Monday a photo of a sun pasted to her front door window. Well, if they are participating, so are we! So, there’s two houses out on our gravel road having fun with this, too! Here’s today’s flower on our front door (my sun from Monday turned into a sunflower today):

I might have to drive into town today to see all the other flowers/plants in the windows!

God is bringing good, even through simple window art.

This is just one example of how God is bringing good from this difficult situation. What good have you witnessed? How have you seen God’s goodness? Would you share it below??

Friend, keep your eyes on the good. God’s good. Watch for it. Write it down. And share it with others. Share it all you can. The world needs reminded of His good today.

Blessings!