Sometimes we recognize God’s goodness in answered prayers, unexpected blessings and doors swinging wide open. But sometimes, we discover just how good God is through the places we never wanted to walk through at all. That’s the powerful perspective behind Brandon Lake’s song “How Good God Is.” Rather than pretending that pain is pleasant or hardship is easy, the song looks honestly at seasons of anger, silence, weakness and breaking—and recognizes that God was revealing something about Himself through every one of them.
Maybe you wouldn’t have chosen the road you’ve traveled. Maybe you prayed desperately for God to change the circumstances. But looking back, you may be able to see something you couldn’t see while you were in the middle of it: God was there. God was working. And God was good.
Brandon Lake on the Story Behind “How Good God Is”
Brandon says the song began with one simple thought that he brought into a writing session with friends:
“I had just been singing that I never would have ever known how good God is. So we just started to unpack it.”
That led them to consider some of the difficult circumstances that can actually push us closer to God.
“What are those things in life? Let’s really talk about the honest ones. God, thank you for the fires that forge me with faith. Thank you for even the anger that forced me to pray.”
And Brandon’s hope for listeners is that the song changes the way we see some of the difficult chapters of our own stories:
“I hope as you hear this song, you can look at those circumstances in your life and that it pushes you towards God.”
That doesn’t mean we have to call everything that happens to us good. It means we can trust that God can meet us in everything that happens to us—and reveal His goodness there.
When the Anger Forces You to Pray
One of the most honest lyrics in the song says:
“Thank God for the anger that forced me to pray.”
Most of us probably wouldn’t put anger on a list of things we’re thankful for. But have you ever experienced a situation so frustrating, painful or unfair that you finally stopped trying to carry it yourself and cried out to God?
Sometimes desperation sends us to places comfort never would.
Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
God isn’t frightened by your honest prayers. You can bring Him the anger, disappointment, confusion and questions. And sometimes the very circumstance that made you feel like you were falling apart becomes the thing that teaches you how desperately you need to run to Him.
When the Silence Teaches You to Wait
The next line continues:
“Thank God for the silence that taught me to wait.”
Waiting can be incredibly difficult—especially when we’re waiting on God.
We want the answer. We want the direction. We want the breakthrough. And preferably, we’d like it by this afternoon.
But Psalm 27:14 reminds us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Waiting on God isn’t wasted time.
There are things He may be developing in you while you wait that couldn’t be developed any other way. The silence may be teaching you trust. The delay may be building endurance. The unanswered question may be inviting you to know God Himself more deeply instead of simply knowing what He plans to do next.
Someday, you may look back and realize that God wasn’t absent in the waiting. He was doing some of His deepest work there.
When Your Weakness Shows You His Strength
Later, Brandon sings:
“Thank God for the weakness that showed me His strength / Thank God for the fire that forged me with faith.”
We spend so much of our lives trying to become stronger.
Stronger emotionally. Stronger spiritually. Strong enough to handle everything thrown our way.
But the Bible repeatedly reminds us that recognizing our weakness isn’t failure—it can become the very place where we experience the strength of God.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Sometimes God changes the circumstance.
Other times, He gives us strength we didn’t know was available until we reached the end of our own.
You may never have discovered how faithfully God could carry you if you had never reached a place where you couldn’t carry yourself.
You may never have known the depth of His peace without walking through something that should have stolen yours.
And you may never have learned how strong He is until you finally admitted how weak you felt.
The Greatest Proof of How Good God Is
The final verse takes the message of the song somewhere even deeper:
“Thank God for His kindness to give up His Son.”
Ultimately, the greatest evidence of God’s goodness isn’t found in whether everything in our lives turns out exactly the way we hoped.
It’s found at the cross.
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s goodness was displayed in the most painful moment in history. Jesus willingly went to the cross, bearing our sin and giving His life so that we could be forgiven, restored and brought into relationship with God.
That means even on the days when circumstances don’t feel good, we can still know that God is good.
The cross settled that question forever.
You May See His Goodness Differently Looking Back
Maybe you’re currently living through one of those chapters Brandon Lake sings about.
The anger.
The silence.
The weakness.
The fire.
You don’t have to pretend you enjoy it. And you don’t have to understand everything God is doing right now.
Just keep turning toward Him.
Because one day, you may look back at the very season you once begged God to remove and realize that somewhere in the middle of it, He taught you how to pray. He taught you how to wait. He showed you His strength. He deepened your faith. And He revealed His goodness in ways you never could have known otherwise.
You might even find yourself saying, along with Brandon Lake:
“I never would’ve ever known how good God is.”
Listen to “How Good God Is”
Take a moment to listen to Brandon Lake’s “How Good God Is” and let us know how it encourages you in the comments. You can also connect with Brandon at brandonlake.com.
