What Does GOOD Mean?

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Some years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and one night as I was driving, I called on God to honor the promises of scripture. In true Word-of-Faith fashion I said out loud (and quite loudly because I was certain volume made my prayers work better), “You will heal me because Isaiah 53:5 says we are healed by his stripes. You will heal me because James 5:15 says the prayer of faith will restore whoever is sick.” I continued down the list. “You will heal me because Psalm 91 says no plague will come near me and you will heal me because Matthew 12:15 says Jesus healed all who were sick. You will heal me because…” And right at that moment something caught in my heart and my throat, a hiccup or a hitch that interrupted my rant, and the bravado evaporated and tears spilled down my cheeks and I whispered shakily, “Would you heal me just because you love me?”

This was a scary and vulnerable place for me. I was comfortable hurling Scripture at God and coming at him with my covenant rights. But asking if he would do something out of love? That had always felt too risky.

I can point to that moment now as a turning point in my relationship with God. That’s when I started to become a daughter.

A daughter knows she is the object of affection simply because she exists. She doesn’t work to earn her position and it isn’t a title she achieves. Her father’s devotion is not contingent upon her effort or performance. A daughter is simply who she is. I did not know myself or God from that vantage point, only from my seat in a pew. 

Chances are you’ve been in a difficult situation. And it’s equally likely that someone assured you that God will work it for your good. So, what do we mean by that? I know what I usually mean: Healing! Quick solutions! Elimination of painful circumstances! GETTING WHAT I WANT. That’s what I see as “good” for me.

But what if my idea of “good” and God’s idea of it are very different? What if God’s idea of good is not the outcome I’m clamoring for, but is instead change and transformation? Expanded perspective? What if he looks at the lousy situation and sees how it will grow me, recalibrate my thinking, and bring increase to my soul?

Assuming, of course, that I trust Him with it.

What if he says this thing you want to avoid will work out for your good because your broken heart will experience a remaking. Pride will be revealed and extracted. Your operating system will be exposed as a counterfeit and you will confront the areas where you don’t trust me. Things that don’t benefit you will be pruned off and left behind. You will get closer to me and become more authentic. You will be a different person afterward - kinder, humbler, less religious – the truer version of you.

Maybe the good is not found in the relief of doubt and discomfort, but in the wrestling with it. Maybe the good is not necessarily in the answered prayer, but in the praying of it – because I am choosing God in the midst of pain or confusion. I’m exercising faith. I am aligning myself with him. Like King Jehoshaphat, I am saying, “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.”  And in the process of choosing something gets built in me, forged in me. Something unshakeable. So that when I come out on the other side of the situation and there’s no miraculous testimony of “I got healed” or “My loved one got healed” or “I got that promotion” or “My bank account suddenly filled up” or whatever I think is the happy ending, I know I still won. I still gained. Because now I know God more intimately. My understanding of His goodness is not as shallow. I know Him and myself in a deeper way. Crooked patterns of thinking have been made straight. 

I’m not saying God gave me cancer so I would discover this. I am saying that when cancer happened, He worked it for my good. That experience was the first step in an overhaul of my identity from servant to beloved child. I also learned a lot about gaining the upper hand over fear.

My friend, Debbie Rodgers, reminds me that Romans 8:28 says he works it for good according to his purpose. She writes, “His purpose. It is both mysterious and wonderful to allow all things to contain good within them. It is God’s delight to show us how to live inside this mystery of His eternal storyline… the one where everything works for good.” 

Make no mistake about it, I wanted the cancer to supernaturally disappear. That was MY idea of what would be good for me. I even suggested to God that a miracle would be a great marketing strategy. The way I figured it, the terrific PR could only help his brand. Apparently, he does not need me as a consultant. I went through chemotherapy, my body responded, and the cancer was eradicated. So, I was healed…and then some. Because His definition of working it for my good is bigger than mine. It’s broader, wider, and deeper. I’m learning to recognize Him and His ways.