What that old church lady taught me

Yesterday morning, I was on a walk. There's these two big hills that I come across on my walk. When I finally mounted the last one, I felt relieved. Automatically I could hear in my head that one old lady from my church growing up as a kid singing in her manly voice (not exaggerating), "God is good, all the time, He put a song of praise in this heart of mine..." As someone who's mind is like a constant jutebox, this song says something about how I felt in that moment. I felt good after the difficult part of my walk, as well as attributed that good feeling to the goodness of God. But I also realized how inaccurate this thought process is. God is not good based on the goodness of circumstance. God is just good, all the time, despite the circumstance. I've found myself singing this same song after coming home after a long day of work, hearing good news, finishing a report for work, while driving home with the windows rolled down and music blasting, when there's a little bit extra in a pay check, when the weather's good, etc. While I think it is a good thing to praise God for the blessings in our lives, it is not good to base God's character on the condition of our situations. And a lot of times, in my attempt to praise God for His blessings, I seem to teach myself that a seemingly blessed life is a sign of God's goodness. It's not during blessing that I need to be reminded of God's goodness, it's during hard times that I need to know that God is good. I need to teach myself to believe in God's goodness despite what my circumstances try to communicate. I need to snuff out those lies that suggest that God's goodness is contingent upon whatever situation I find myself in. I need to sing it out loud so that my heart believes it and my head connects with the truth of God's goodness. Because just as that old church lady taught me years ago, "God is good, all the time, He put a song of praise in this heart of mine..."