“Why did God let you suffer? I don’t get that. I don’t understand. (a friend, 2014)”
A mother learned her son overdosed on heroin and died.
A baby is born with genetic defects so severe she only lives a few weeks.
A pastor suffers for years with nerve pain.
A five year old girl lives in fear of an abusive parent.
If God is good, how could He let this happen? In 2014, my friend needed to know the answer. He was struggling to justify his doubts and fears. Lies, attack, and false accusations had almost destroyed his life.
“I want to believe, but I don’t get it. ”
God is a good father. He is not bound by the limits of our humanity. He embodies goodness, because He created it. 1 John 4:16 tells us that God IS love. He cannot separate from love and goodness if that is who He is. He is good.
So if God is good, and He is love, then why did he let me suffer? Why did he let your child overdose? Why did her husband die? I could try to explain it, but the truth is, there is simply no answer that will satisfy a hurting heart. He knows more than we do. That’s it.
“Yet I totally trust you to rescue me one more time, so that I can see once again how good you are while I’m still alive! (Psalm 27:13 TPT)”
If we never experience pain, how would we learn His goodness? God is constant- He does not change. Addiction pulls us into a roller coaster ride of crisis. One after the other. Again and again. We need to know what is true, what is reliable. No matter what you do, what happens in your family, or how many times you fail, God is good. He is the solid ground that won’t give way when it rains.
His goodness gives me hope- I can believe that He has good things planned for my future and that of my family. Yes, God wants the best for His children, but sometimes we fail. Our choices, sin, sickness- they can only derail the train of His goodness in Your life, they can never cancel it. No matter what, we can once again see His goodness while we are alive!
My good Father wanted to remind me who He is last night. That friend who struggled in 2014? He found His way through the dark and can now see the goodness of God in his life.
“God, everyone sees Your goodness, for Your tender love is blended into everything You do. (Psalm 145:9 TPT)”
Families in Recovery Ministries 
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