Is God Still Good Even Now?

Here’s a hard truth following Christ doesn’t make you immune to depression it can sometimes make you more vulnerable to it.

That may sound counterintuitive, especially in a faith that offers peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7) and fullness of joy in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). But for many sincere believers, depression has become part of the path of discipleship not because of a lack of faith, but because of how deeply their faith engages with reality.

After more than three decades of walking with Christ and over twenty-five years in pastoral ministry, one truth stands out: grappling with God’s goodness in the midst of suffering is not a mark of weak faith. It is often a sign of faith that refuses to look away from life’s hardest questions.

The Tension Every Christian Feels

The Christian life demands that we hold three profound truths simultaneously:

1. God is all-powerful — “The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty” (Psalm 93:1).

2. God is perfectly just — “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17).

3. God is infinitely good and loving — “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1).

These truths are deeply comforting until they seem incompatible with the suffering we see in our lives and in the world. That’s where depression can strike with cruel precision. When our hearts are already burdened, and our minds begin to wonder Why won’t God act? the very truths that once brought comfort can deepen the confusion.

If God is powerful enough to heal my mind, why hasn’t He?

If He is good, why do the innocent suffer across the globe?

These are not abstract theological questions. They are the anguished cries of the soul in pain.

When Doubt Is Not Rebellion

Christians often hear that doubt is sinful. But that view oversimplifies what Scripture shows us.

Not all doubt is created equal. In fact, we can distinguish three types:

• Doubts from Deliberation — The honest, intellectual wrestling that often leads people to deeper conviction. Think of the Bereans in Acts 17, carefully examining Paul’s claims.

• Doubts from Disorientation — The confusion that arises when life’s pain seems to contradict God’s promises. These doubts are emotional and experiential, not rebellious. Job, Psalm 73, and even Jesus on the cross (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) give voice to this form of doubt.

• Doubts from Rebellion — The willful rejection of God’s truth. This is the hardened heart Scripture warns against in Hebrews 3.

The Christian who doubts from disorientation lost in the “grim cave” of depression is not rebelling. They are trying to reconcile pain with faith, darkness with light, confusion with hope.

Holding the Tension with Job

Job is a model for us in this. His story is possibly the oldest recorded in the Bible, and it centers on this very tension: how do you trust a good and sovereign God when your world collapses?

His friends couldn’t hold the tension. They tried to resolve it by accusing Job or limiting God. But Job clung to the mystery. He challenged, he lamented, he questioned but he never walked away.

And in one breathtaking moment of faith, Job declares:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)

He didn’t have answers, but he had a Redeemer. And that was enough.

The Cross Holds the Answer

Today, we know more than Job did. We know the name of the Redeemer: Jesus Christ. And we know the shape of His love the cross.

The cross is where all three great truths about God converge:

• God is powerful — “The gospel is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16).

• God is just — “He put forward [Christ] to show his righteousness” (Romans 3:25).

• God is loving — “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

When life unravels and suffering clouds every hope, the cross remains fixed in history, shouting through the fog: God sees, God cares, and God has acted.

This is not theoretical. It is historical and deeply personal. Christ died for us, not to offer an escape from suffering now, but to guarantee its end one day.

When You Can’t Hold On

There are times when faith feels impossible when the darkness is so thick, you can barely breathe, let alone believe. In those moments, something sacred happens: the body of Christ bears your faith with you.

You may need others to believe for you, to speak gospel truth over you, to remind you that you're not beyond hope. You may need to say with tears, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). And He will.

Even if all you can do is choose by a small act of will to park your doubts at the foot of the cross and wait, that is faith. That is worship.

A Final Word of Hope

According to the World Health Organization, more than 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Among Christians, many battle silently, afraid that their mental illness means spiritual failure.

But Scripture doesn’t condemn those who doubt and wrestle in pain. It dignifies them. It gives them voice. And through the suffering and triumph of Christ, it offers a hope that is deeper than emotion and stronger than despair.

If today you’re asking, Is God still good? look again to the cross.

You won’t find every answer there. But you will find a Savior who entered your suffering, bore your sin, and promises that one day, all of it will be made right.

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