Life is Hard, But God is Good
Life is hard, but God is good.
I say it all the time, because I believe it’s true with every fiber of my being. Most of the time, when I say it, it’s words that overflow from my heart.
Yes, life is hard. Cancer, sexual abuse, adultery, anxiety, losing a loved one, 8+ years of daily chronic migraines… I could keep going, but I think you get the point. You can trust me when I say I know life is hard, because my life is hard.
But here’s the thing: even though my life is hard, I still believe my God is good.
“Life is hard, but God is good,” isn’t a cliché for me, but a reminder from the truth in God’s Word.
Christian Clichés
Several years ago, I heard a sermon where the pastor said telling someone who was struggling with a real life issue that “God can use all things for good” wasn’t helpful. That it was cliché and didn’t need to be said.
His point was that Christianese and Christian clichés become harmful when we repeat words without thinking about them. The Oxford Dictionary defines a “cliché” as “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.”
I have to admit, even though I didn’t necessarily agree with him, I understood where he was coming from.
When I first became a Christian, I didn’t know any Christianese (which was really weird as I grew up attending church). I had sat in a pew on and off all my life, knew most of the Bible stories, and Sunday school songs, but that was it.
I couldn’t tell you how many books were in the Bible, much less what they were called or what order they were in (not even the gospels). There wasn’t a single Bible verse I had memorized. Y’all, I didn’t even know what VeggieTales was.
Worse than all that was the fact that I didn’t know where to start.
I was already plugged-in at my church, but when I opened my Bible I didn’t get anything out of it. It wasn’t a lack of desire, but spiritual illiteracy.
Learning Christianese
As the years went by, I grew in my faith and picked up some terminology. I still get surprised by something every now and then. But what I’ve found is that it’s easy to dismiss sayings you don’t understand or believe.
If you don’t know why someone says something, it doesn’t have the same impact it would if they backed up their comment with Scripture. Or at least it didn’t for me.
Jump to 5 Scriptures for When Life is Hard
My best friend in high school had a Bible verse for everything. If a situation arose she didn’t have a verse for, she called our pastor and asked. She wasn’t just telling me her opinion, she was constantly pointing me to Jesus. It was incredibly helpful as I began my relationship with Jesus.
And it also taught me how to do that myself. We didn’t have Google back then, so I bought a concordance (that thing is huge, y’all. I still have it).
The more I immersed myself in God’s Word, the less cliché Christianese became. Comments like “God can use all things for good” or “life is hard, but God is good” aren’t unhelpful Christianese when you know why people say them.
A few months ago, my husband and I watched The Orville (a sci-fi show similar to StarTrek). Dr. Clair Finn is the doctor on the show, and in one of the episodes, she said, “Clichés become clichés because they are valid enough to be repeated.”
There is so much truth to that. Which makes me stop and wonder if the question isn’t if sayings are cliché, but whether or not we believe God’s Word to be true.
Do You Believe?
When my friend and former Candid gal, Valerie first discovered Candidly Christian, she was skeptical about my mantra. She hadn’t encountered someone who lived in light of the gospel before, and she thought I was weird. (Note: I’m not saying I’m not.)
You can actually read her post about it here.
Having been there myself, I totally get that.
When I first became a Christian, if someone would have told me that “Life is hard, but God is good” would become my mantra, I probably would have rolled my eyes and made some sort of sarcastic remark. Back then, God was something we talked about at church on Sundays–He had nothing to do with everyday life.
The path from that place to where I am in my walk with God today was a long one. It was a slow process and a long journey I’ve taken one step at a time.
But here’s the thing: It’s a journey anyone can take and it’s never too late to start.
Part of the reason I started writing devotionals was because I wanted to help other women find the hope God offers to us on a daily basis. I want them to know His Words reach off the pages of Scripture and into our everyday lives.
And that’s the idea behind our Candid Moments devotional series. The fifth book in the series, Candid Moments: Living in Light of the Gospel released today and is free on Amazon Kindle through September 5th, 2025 (and it will remain free for those with Kindle Unlimited). Just like everything on Candidly Christian, we hope it points women to Jesus.
5 Life is Hard, But God is Good Bible Verses
Because I’m always saying, “Life is hard, but God is good,” I want to show you where that belief came from. It’s not just my mantra, it’s truth from God’s Word. Here are five Bible verses that back it up.
1.) John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
2.) James 1:2-3
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
3.) Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
4.) Psalm 46:1-3, 10
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. … “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
5.) 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.
Related Post: 5 Things I Learned When Life Was Hard
Join the Conversation
Do you have a Christian saying others might consider cliché, but that comes from the truth in God’s Word? Or have you struggled with something Christian’s say because you don’t know why they say it? Either way, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Candid Moment Devotionals
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This makes a lot of sense! I’ve certainly heard “Christianese” sayings that didn’t feel helpful, not because I don’t believe them but because it seemed like a way for the person saying it to avoid going deeper or getting involved. But when someone believes it, they live it, and it moves from just a saying to an action.
Yes! I think people can tell when it’s more than empty words. Honestly, I’ve said other clichés I didn’t believe before, just because I didn’t know what else to say. I was the one going through hardship, and someone was trying to comfort me – I had a migraine, my grandma had just died, and I simply didn’t know how to respond to their sympathy, so I deflected with Christianese I knew I didn’t believe. The words tasted bitter coming out and I’m sure they could tell they were hollow words as I didn’t say them with confidence.
Thank you for the hope you share here, Heather! Your words were so comforting to me today! I appreciate you immensely!
Thanks, Stacey! Life is hard, but God is good.