It's all good...

I have been thinking a lot about the goodness of God recently.  It is easy to think God is good when things are good.  My life is really good right now.  My kids are happy and making quality friendships with little people who have parents that Troy and I adore.  Troy is chasing professional dreams.  He is BUSY, but he is able to focus on himself right now.  After 2 years of focusing on our children, I know he is happy to be back to a more normal schedule that allows him to focus on work and school.  I LOVE my new job...not a little - a lot.  Good people, fun tasks and laughter...I love the church.  Being there restores my soul.
But what about when life is not good?  When life is hard, do I trust in the goodness of God?  Knowing that God is good is different than feeling that God is good.  When circumstance weigh us down with stress, discontent, unhappiness, depression, frustration, despair, grief, regret, sadness, anger...do I view my life through the heart, mind and eyes of someone who knows that God is good?  That is what faith is, right?  Living life with the knowledge that God is good, that He loves you and that He wants us to know His goodness in abundance.
God is always good...but He is not always sweet.  We face bitter circumstances...life is full of hard things.  Can I believe that God is good even when He is not sweet?  When death comes, when time passes with no answer, when people I love hurt, when provision doesn't come...even then do I know that He is good?  That He is being good to me...that He is working good for me?  Do I live standing firm in the head knowledge and the heart experience that He is not only sovereign but good?
I think that is the catch, isn't it?  He is sovereign.  He reigns.  He can do all things...including change my circumstance.  How do we reconcile the sovereignty of God and the goodness of God?  I guess the answer is faith...that His way may not be our way but His way is still the best way.  God is good, all the time.  All the time...