The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.   He cares for those who trust in him.

Nahum 1:7

A few years ago I was in Romania in a ministry tour in that wonderful land.  That church had passed through unbelievably difficult times when the Communist government was in power and was determined to impose their atheistic beliefs on the people.  Our Romanian hosts were living in the shadow of that oppression.  That thought impressed me.

I recall that as a congregation gathered in that land, someone said, “The Lord is good!”  At once all responded, “All of the time!”  I asked myself, “Even in dark times?”  They had just passed through times of ridicule and even hate when, to be sure, times were “bad.” But in hindsight, they could proclaim without a doubt, “God is good all of the time.”  This verse in Nahum came to life for me there in Romania.

The Lord is good.  Now and again I hear, “Why did God allow such a thing?”   Wait a minute, “is the Lord bad?”  Is this not the issue?  Is the Lord good sometimes and bad at others?  Nahum has no doubt, “The Lord is good.”  The Romanian congregation shouted, “All the time!” With our limited understanding this is sometimes hard to believe, especially when we are going through a troubled time.  Their witness struck my heart!

He is “a refuge in times of trouble.”  God does not promise that we will not see trouble, we will, but during those times, God is our refuge, our place of safety.  “He cares for those who trust in him.”