When Good Doesn’t Feel Good

When life doesn’t feel good, it’s easy to question what God is doing.

In this episode, we rethink what “good” actually means, explore how God sees beyond time, and reflect on how we can trust Him even when things don’t feel the way we expected.

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🎙️Previous Relevant Episodes: In 2021, Imma be and S1E1: Wait for the "BUT" 

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Stay blessed x

Transcript

Day 11 - Redefining Good

Day 10 - Outside of Time

Day 14 - Waiting well

Day 9 - Under His Wings

Day 12 - Pray Boldly

Conclusion

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to the Undiluted Word podcast. My name is Dara Dare, your host, um week two. Week two of 30 days in the undiluted word, a devotional journey. Um, this week was interesting. I think there was a lot of deep reflection. I'm hoping that those of you who are following through have also been reflecting quite deeply about what it truly means to trust God and even when we don't have all the answers, which I think it was a lot of the key themes that we're coming through this week's devotional. So, my question to start, or my thoughts good doesn't always feel good, and I think that's something we don't talk about enough. During a conversation with my mum earlier this week, she was sharing how sometimes when someone is really struggling, going through a tough time, we are quick to say things like it's God's plan, or it all works out well, as if those things make the hard stuff feel any better. The truth is, even if we trust God, it doesn't feel good in the moment when things aren't working out our way, or if something terrible has happened, um, yeah, it doesn't feel good. And I think someone just telling you it all work out well, blah blah blah, doesn't always sound um helpful in that moment in time. And I think we are all guilty of possibly sharing such words of comfort to people, but I think that's why I wanted to delve in a little bit more on the topic for this week's episode is when good doesn't feel good. As I said, this week has challenged me. It has challenged me to rethink what good even means. We often think good is everything feels right or it feels perfect, but I'm gonna share with you later on in this episode how I think God is challenging us to rethink and redefine what we believe the word good actually means. And I'll take you back to Genesis when God has created everything and he said this was good, and we'll talk about that. So, what if the season you're in right now, though it doesn't feel great, is still a part of God's good work? What if he's seeing the end from the beginning, even when we can't see it? Let's talk about that. So, I'm gonna take you back to Genesis um chapter one, and this segment of what I will be discussing with you all today is what does good mean? What does it actually mean? In Genesis chapter one, just getting my Bible together in Genesis chapter one. We have the creation account, and straight in in verse three, it says, God said, Let there be light, and there was light, and God saw the light and it was good. You skip through a few more verses, verse nine, you have the waters under the heavens. God called the dry land earth, and he gathered together the waters, he called the seas, and God saw that it was good. Time and time again, you have in verse 12 God has made fruits on the trees, and he saw it and said it was good. Time and time throughout this Genesis account, you have God saying, What he has made was good. The word for good in Hebrew is top, which means pleasant, agreeable, good. In English, I'd say if we said if we were trying to use it in our own English term now, we'd say, Oh, yeah, that's pretty good. Like God created the light, and he's like, Yeah, that's pretty good. He's got the trees and they're having they're reaping their fruits, and he's like, Yep, that's pretty good. Um, so that's what I would say the definition of that word is. It means something is possibly like pleasing to the eyes, it's pleasing to the heart, it's or in general, it's making your experience of life altogether a better or richer experience. Now, in this same Genesis 1, we see that what God had made was good, but it's not perfect because you get to Genesis 2 verse 18, and God then says, I'm sure you all know, but I'm just gonna read it because I like to read the Bible, it's getting back to the word. Genesis 2 verse 8, it says, And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. So here you see that even though we've got this good, good, good, good that has been made or created, it comes to a point when God's like, Oh no, that's not good. So you can see this is an environment that has been made to be good, but it is not perfect, it is fit for its purpose, but it is not perfect. And later on in Genesis chapter 3, you see that the serpent comes and then causes havoc. So you can really tell now that even though this world is created to be something that is good, which is pleasant, it it's it's not necessarily perfect. And I think this is when I start thinking, okay, maybe good isn't just the idea that we assume everything is perfect, smooth, and easygoing. Um, it doesn't mean flawless or perfect, it means fitting its purpose, it is whole or aligned with God's intent. So I think about this now and think in my life have there been seasons that didn't feel good but were still purposeful. Maybe when I've struggled with exams or faced delays, even with maybe sitting my drive-in test. I know during COVID there were a lot of things that were also not good, didn't feel good in those moments, but were we still able to see that they were purposeful? Um, I've had maybe friendships that haven't necessarily worked out and didn't go smoothly. Those definitely didn't feel good, but was there a greater purpose to it? In hindsight, I think these experiences that I've had and the ones that maybe you are having are shaping something within you. And what if right now what you're waiting on or walking through is part of a good that you can't fully see yet? It's true that the world that we live in is filled with a lot of imperfection, and I think we all have to agree on that point. So, in reflection on this topic about good and ref and redefining what it means, we're always gonna have curveballs thrown our way, and that's just the reality of how life is, but God's goodness isn't the absence of challenges, God is still good, even in the imperfections we see in the world today, He has a purpose and he is present even in an imperfect world, and I think that in itself is encouraging that even in a world where things are not perfect, God's goodness will still remain. So, yeah, perhaps good isn't necessarily everything going right or as we think it should be, but God being at work in everything. After all, in Genesis 1, it's God seeing that it was good. Adam and Eve, as when late when they came later on, they're just in this world, and okay, wow, that this is cool. But it's God that has the perspective and the knowledge and understanding of it being good. And I think as Adam and Eve start living in the Garden of Eden, they are with God, his presence is with them. So they're living in this, I guess, ideal world for them, and they can see God's goodness. And I think that's what we need to go back to seeing God's goodness even in an imperfect world. My prayer is that God will help us to recognize his handiwork even in a lot of imperfect situations that we are going through, and to help us trust that he's working things out for our good, even when we don't fully understand it. Next, I want us to consider the idea of time, and this was a theme that was in day 10. We live in a world where everything is tied to time. Deadlines, whether it's school work, um, university work, work work, um even to register for the elections and to be able to vote, that that has a deadline of its own. Um, we've got calendars that we're trying to keep up with. In terms of me catching up with my friends, whether it's on FaceTime or whether it's uh physical catch-up in person, going out for dinner, whatever it is. I like to try and be as organized as possible and put it inside a calendar, whether it be on my phone or in my physical diary. I like just knowing that this is the time we've scheduled for this and it's gonna happen at XYZ. Because I can't lie, if it's not in the diary, I've not registered it. If I've not said, yep, I'm gonna pencil that in, I'm gonna put it in my diary, then there's a high chance that I might just forget. Um, but that's just the reality of the life that we live today. Everything is kind of scheduled, even meetings, we have them on Zoom or Teams, you name it. We just have schedules and things are linked with time. Our lives generally run on GMT. But here's what blows my mind God sits outside of that timeline, He is outside of the Greenwich Meridian time, um, just observing, looking at things. But he's I don't think he's just observing from a distance and watching things unravel and being shocked by it. He's orchestrating the events that are happening whilst we are down here on earth. Nothing that happens happens out of his control or out of or without his knowledge. In Isaiah chapter 46, verse 10. We are told, um, let's start from verse 9. Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things that are not yet done. I like that. Um, let me also get it in another translation because if you know me, you know I like to jump around in different translations trying to just get a deeper meaning of the text, and I advise you all to do the same. So, Isaiah chapter 46, verse 10, in the New International Version, I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. And one of my favorites is the message version, even though it clumps a lot of the verses together. It says this think about this, wrap your minds around it. This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart. Remember your history, your long and rich history. I am God, the only God you have had or ever will have. Incomparable, irreplaceable, from the very beginning, telling you what the ending will be, all along, letting you in on what is going to happen, assuring you I'm in this for the long haul. I'll do exactly what I set out to do. I love it. Um, so what are we getting from this text? God sits outside of time. As I said, he sits outside of our concept of time, which is the Granite Meridian time. If you're living in the UK, um, I know America they have lots of different timings, like PST. Is that even a time? Anyway, they have lots of different times, but God sits outside whatever time zone that you are in or you are living in. He has inside information on what has not happened yet on our own timeline. It reminds me of um The Flash. I don't know if any of you have watched The Flash, um, but they had different timelines, like different oh wait, maybe I should explain it for those who don't know. But in The Flash, it's this like superhero um that is able to he's got speed as his like ability, meaning that he can race far into the future, or also race backwards in time, yeah. So he can go either into the future or backwards in time, and there have been times in the seas in the seasons of this series that he has gone back in time and changed some things, or something's happened, and then it affects things later later onwards. Um, and I thought it was always kind of cool that he was able to do that, but also he used to kind of make a lot of mess out of those situations that he went back in time with. But think about it now that God is this quote unquote superhero that is able to see the end from the beginning, he knows everything that is happening on in our timeline, he's above it, and instead of him kind of he's on he's not like Flash, Barry. I think his name was yeah, Barry. I stopped watching it a long time ago because it started to get irritating, but yeah, instead of God being cautious of not making errors or mistakes and how he's going to do things in our timeline, he is there with us every step of the way in our timeline, within our timeline, and also above it. He is omniscient, he is omnipresent, meaning he is all-knowing and all-present. He is able to weave into our lives ways that things happen, he orchestrates things so that things don't just unravel and spiral out of control, but he is actively working through us and seeing that things work out to his perfect plan for us. Um, and this perfect plan, I say, is kind of linking back to what we spoke about earlier in terms of things that are happening or unraveling in our lives are happening as God intended for them to be, as opposed to us just stumbling into it and us thinking that oh gosh, like this is really messed up my life, my structure, what I intend to do, my own timeline, my um A B C D E F G of how my life is supposed to turn out. Um, so yeah, just so just to like round up on what I've just said because I know I spoke about flash, blah blah blah blah, but it's just comforting to know that God exists outside of our timeline. What he wills, he does, what he promises, he fulfills, and whatever he desires for us, he also achieves. He isn't just letting things spiral out, he is orchestrating things to work out for our good because what is above our head is underneath his own feet. Um, and I think that idea of God being outside of our timeline is a challenge and can also be comforting to us. And I wonder what it is for you. Does that challenge you or does it comfort you, knowing that God transcends our timeline? He isn't confined and restricted by our man-made timeline. Um, I think in our finite minds, we try to comprehend such an infinite God, but it's just not possible. Um, just because of just because of how amazing God is, we can we struggle to come to terms with the wholeness of who he is, but it's beautiful, even in that sense, that he still wants to be involved with us, he still wants to be involved in our timeline, and that's why I think it's a reassuring thought that someone as powerful as that still wants to be involved in my life. I'm like, who am I that you're so mindful of me? Um, I think that's beautiful. There was a comment that was shared in the group chat that we are discussing and going through the 30 days of the Undalita devotional together, and I'm just getting up what one of my friends shared. Um, thanks, Mona Lisa. Really love this comment that you made on for day 10 outside of time. She says, It makes me feel safe and is a challenge to live life like I know that the unbound god is in total control. If anyone has been to Go Ape, now let me just tell you what GoApe is for those of you who haven't. Go Ape is like a tree house, treetop adventure where you are attached to a harness, and then you have to go through lots of different like obstacles, maybe like jumping across some stepping stones, and the only thing holding you up is this harness. If you were to slip off any of the stones that are up in the trees, you're literally just walking around like a monkey. Um, but if you were to slip off of any of these platforms, or as you're maybe going down some um what do they call these things that just go wee um the zip wire, zip wire. If you were to slip or fall, the harness is there to sort of catch you or hold you up. So Manelisa says, if anyone has been to go ape, that's the image that came into mind. You have all the protective gear and know that it won't allow you to fall, but sometimes even knowing that doesn't take away from the fear of the experience. Life can be like that, knowing God is in control but still having that element of fear. But each day is an opportunity to grow in faith, and Him being present in our lives gives us the opportunity to give God the opportunity to show us this. Just like Go Ape, just like and just like Go Ape trial, after a few tries, your body catches up to the rationale that there was that was there all along in knowing that the gear will keep you safe. Honestly, I have no words to add to that because it just shows that element of us feeling safe and also being challenged to live life like we truly know that God is in control, and once we live like that, we will be truly unstoppable. So, yeah, once again, it is very reassuring to know that the God that we serve is living outside of our timeline. And I think just linking the two topics that we've discussed now in day 10 and day 11, I just think again, good doesn't always mean comfortable, easy, or perfect. Sometimes good means purposeful, God approved. And if God is able to see the end from the beginning, then what he calls good includes the things that even we don't understand yet. And I think a lot of the times in my life, it's only in hindsight that I realize the things that were happening to me were good, and in the moment, in whilst it was happening, it doesn't feel good. And I think we have to come to a place as Christians and believers to accept that that yeah, this doesn't feel good, but don't retreat and run away from God because of that, but run closer to Him to be like, I know this isn't good, but I want to trust you, and I know that you will help me see the good in this if that's what you want me to see. I want to see your perspective of this good for God to say, and he saw Dara's life, he saw XYZ's life and said it was good. Um, which obviously said it's not perfection, is that it fulfills God's intentions, God's intended purpose for your life. Um, and I think when you think about that concept of living a purpose-driven life, it's only sometimes in hindsight that you realize okay, maybe that was my purpose after all. That was why I got sent this situation. It was to encourage this person or that person. So I think that's a point I will always just keep going back to the fact that God sees the end from the beginning, and so he knows what is good. It reminds me once again of obviously one of my favorite stories in the Bible and Bible text, even in Genesis 50, verse 20. I'm sure you're all tired of me telling you that this is my favorite um text in the Bible. But you have Joseph who has been through an ordeal, more than an ordeal, more than an ordeal. He says Genesis 50, verse 20, but as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. So, this is the person that has been sold into slavery by his blood brothers, and he is now in Egypt, he's been thrown into the jail for something he didn't even. Do and then he's been forgotten there by the people he helped. Eventually, his number out, he's like a prime minister type thing, and then he's able to save his brothers and so many other people from death in a famine. And he goes, Yeah, you intended bad for me, but God meant it for my good. And clearly, he's not saying that was perfect, he's saying that God meant it for a greater purpose that he was only able to see in hindsight. I pray that we'll be able to come to a point in our lives by God's grace that we're able to see, yeah, God meant it for my good, and I can now see that. Um, yeah, in the process, I do understand and believe it will be difficult, but it's about holding on to that faith in God, um, knowing that you've got the harness on, and God is see still seeing us through those difficult and tough days. So, just to brush up on some other things that we've spoken about or kind of explored during this week, day 14 talks about waiting time and how it is not a waste of time, it is developmental, and this is a point I'm always gonna stick and discuss and share and talk about forever and ever and ever. That we are all gonna be in waiting seasons in our lives, and I think in a fast-paced world where we want things to be done quite quickly, on the like just like that. Um, wait in time can often be seen as detrimental, but it's not, it's developmental. This is um, I have discussed this in previous episodes about waiting, um, waiting for the butt in our lives. So, if you want to please go and check them out. Another concept that we discussed was the metaphor of God being an eagle and hiding under his wings, which is a form of protection. Um, it's a place of provision, being in his peace, presence. There's also preservation there. Um, this links to a previous episode that I've spoken about in January 2021. I think it was entitled I'm a bee. In 2021, I'm a bee dot dot dot. So check that out if you haven't already. I'm sure the words of that um podcast will still be a blessing to you all today. In a book called The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, he says the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life. So, in essence, the way that we pray really matters. Our prayers aren't just supposed to be words, they reflect what we believe about God and what we expect from Him. And so I guess the reflection or the question is that are our prayers shaped by fear or limitation, or do we trust in God's power and his faithfulness? If I think about this personally, um I think a lot of my prayers recently have been quite simple in terms of just communicating with God, which is not a bad thing. You're supposed to communicate with God on a day-to-day um kind of basis and have that open line of communication as we've discussed in the past. Um but I think there's a time and there's an a call and an appeal from God telling us that we should make our prayers be faith-filled, stretch our prayers a bit more, don't just be safe with what we're praying about. Um be bold in our requests. He's asked, he's told us ask, seek, knock. And he that invitation is very clear: ask and a door will be open, seek and you will find knock, and the door will be asked and it will be given to you, seek and you will find knock, and the door will be opened. And so he's very clear in terms of our communication with him, he's telling us to ask. Um, but I think recently, as I said, my prayers have been safe, it's just good to have a conversation with God, it's good, but he's this invitation is clear, as I said, and I feel like I've gotten to a point where I don't want to hold back anymore in terms of my prayers. I want to I remember when I was back in university, I used to I used to pray with so much boldness and no hesitation. I will ask God to show up for me in big ways, and that really just showed how I trusted him so much to be able to do these things, and I felt like it was it was nothing for him to do. And I think now again, as I've grown up and developed, and I'm in different seasons of my life, I need to tap back into that boldness, not be shy in terms of my prayers and what I'm bringing to God to answer. I asked myself this week, why aren't we stretching our prayers to be fit to be faith-filled? Is it our fear of being disappointed? Which is crazy because God is the one person that is so constant, He is not going to disappoint us the same way humans can disappoint us, and so if there is anyone to ask of something, it's probably him. Of course, there'll be times of waiting and um times where we things are happening and we don't think that they are quote unquote good, but as I said, and we've discussed in this episode, our idea of what good is should hopefully be changing and shifting, but yeah. So, I guess my appeal for us all is not to be shy, let's pray bold prayers, bring to God those things that we're like, oh, if somebody heard me say this, they'll be like, Charles, what are you talking about? I want us to bring those bold prayers, faith-filled prayers to God, um, and see what He will do. So, yeah, if you'd like, share those big prayers, bold prayers with me. You can either share them um privately via the links below as a prayer request, and let us see. I'm very excited to see what God can do in our lives as we stretch our faith together. Thank you so much for listening in for this episode as we have reflected on um the idea of God living outside and existing outside our timeline and time zones and what this means for us. So sometimes I guess life isn't just about making sense of the things that are going on, but learning to trust the one who sees it all. As I said in the beginning, maybe the question that we should be asking ourselves is, is this good? But rather we should ask, can I trust God even when it doesn't feel like it is good? And to close, let us pray. Dear God, we thank you for your omniscience and your omnipotence. We thank you for living outside of our timelines because that gives us the reassurance that you have got it all under control. What is above our heads is still below your feet. You are seeing our lives as it unfolds and you're orchestrating things to work out for our good. Lord, help us to understand that good doesn't necessarily mean that things are perfect and flawless, but that you have us in mind and that you are orchestrating all things to be as you intended it to be. I pray that we'll be able to truly understand what it means to trust you even when life doesn't feel good. Not to rely on our own feelings because our feelings, as we said, they're just unreliable. The only thing that we can stand on and be sure of is your faithfulness to us. I pray that you'll be able to strengthen our faith. Help us to be able to pray big, bold, faith-filled prayers to really let us exhibit and just demonstrate our faith in you. I pray that you will help us stretch our faith beyond boundaries of man-made thoughts or man-made ideas of who you are and what you can do. I pray that you will help anyone who is in a waiting season right now and doesn't know exactly how and when they will come out of this season. I pray that you help them see the good or eventually see the good in what you are leading them through. God be with us between now and the next time we come and speak and share with each other. Continue to help us all as we're going through this 30 days in the undiluted word, the devotional. I pray that you reach everyone where they are and help them also to grow in their walk with you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Thank you all for joining again on this episode. Once again, I've enjoyed sharing some insights and some more behind the scenes into my thoughts and what I'm learning and relearning as I'm going through this devotional. If you haven't joined, there's still time to join. The month isn't over yet, and you can even start again from the beginning if you so desire. The links of how you can get your own book or devotional, whether that be a physical copy or an ebook version, are in the episode description box. Everything you need basically is an episode description box. Till you hear from me again. Bye bye and stay blessed.