God Wants to Be Good to You: Experience God's Goodness in Your Blended Family Life

Joy in the field

Demands or Delights?

Sometimes I feel like life is full of more demands than delights. Schedules are tight. Expectations are heavy. And the delicate balance of navigating my role in my blended family, on top of everything else, sometimes leaves me wondering if anyone—including God—sees how hard this is.

But I am inevitably comforted by this truth: God wants to be good to me.

 “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all…” — Psalm 31:19

God isn’t stingy. He isn’t withholding joy, peace, or love. He’s a Father who delights in blessing His daughters.

When Goodness Feels Far Away

We all know that blended family life comes with unique struggles, like:

• Conflict with a former spouse. Courtroom battles or toxic communication can drain your spirit.

• Tension with stepchildren. Their guarded hearts or outright rejection can make you feel like an outsider in your own home.

• Comparison and inadequacy. You may watch other “picture-perfect” families and wonder why your story feels so messy.

It’s in these moments that the enemy whispers lies:

“You’re disqualified.”“

You’ve messed this up too many times.”

God is blessing others, but not you.”

But Psalm 23:6 reminds us: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

Rest in the promise of God's word: His goodness pursues you when life is complicated, through the valleys, in the space in between. Everywhere. Always.

The Lies We Believe About God’s Goodness

Sometimes pain clouds our vision. When life is heavy, it's easy to buy into distorted ideas about God's character. Let's name a few:

1. “God’s goodness is for other people.”

Psalm 84:11 promises: “No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Through Christ, you’ve already been declared blameless. His goodness has your name on it.

2. “I have to earn His goodness.”

We often hustle for blessings—thinking if we pray more, serve more, just try harder, then God will show up. But Romans 5:8 says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” His goodness is unearned, undeserved, and unstoppable.

3. “If life hurts, God must not be good.”

This one cuts deep. Even in hardship, God’s goodness can be at work. Scripture shows us over and over that hardship and goodness can coexist. Joseph spent years betrayed and imprisoned before he could say, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). The cross itself—the greatest tragedy—became the ultimate gift of goodness.

Receiving That God Wants to Be Good to You

The challenge isn’t that God isn’t being good—it’s that we often resist receiving it. We build walls because we’re afraid to be disappointed again. We numb ourselves so we won’t feel the ache of unmet expectations.

But God invites us to open our hands and hearts.

Lamentations 3:22–23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Every morning, His goodness is delivered fresh to your doorstep. Will you pick it up, or will you leave it unopened?

Practice This:

Name one area where you’ve resisted His blessing. Maybe it’s your marriage. Maybe it’s your role with your stepchildren. Maybe it’s your own self-worth. Then pray boldly:

“Father, I receive Your goodness here.”

Hard Questions We Need to Face

Stepmoms often wrestle with questions like:

• If God is good, why hasn’t my stepchild’s heart softened?

• If God is good, why does co-parenting feel like war?

• If God is good, why am I so tired and unseen?

These questions don’t scare God. The Psalms are full of raw cries like these. David often poured out his pain, only to circle back to the truth of God’s faithful character.

What matters is that you bring them to God, not away from Him.

Choosing to See His Goodness

Sometimes goodness is obvious. Other times, it requires intentional sight. Psalm 27:13 says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Notice the word see. Goodness may already be present, but we have to choose to look for it.

Try this:

• At the end of the day, write down three ways you saw God’s goodness, even in small things.

• Celebrate those moments. They are evidence that God is near.

This practice shifts your perspective from scarcity to abundance, from what’s missing to what’s present. Over time, you’ll train your heart to recognize abundance instead of lack.

When Goodness Doesn’t Feel Good

Here’s the hard truth: God’s goodness doesn’t always feel good in the moment.

• Setting boundaries with a toxic co-parent may cause temporary fallout, but it protects your peace.

• A “no” may close one door but open a better one later.

• The refining fire of trials may hurt, but it produces perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3–4).

Like a child receiving medicine they don’t understand, we may resist. But our Father sees the bigger picture. His goodness is always for our growth, even when it stings.

Living From God’s Goodness

When you believe God wants to be good to you, it changes everything:

• You stop striving for approval—you already have His favor.

• You parent from a place of peace, not pressure.

• You approach conflict with hope, not despair.

• You carry joy into your home, even when circumstances are imperfect.

  You become a living testimony that God’s goodness is real—even in blended families.

A Final Challenge

God wants to be good to you. Not just in eternity, but here, today, in the messy middle of your blended family life.

Here’s your challenge this week:

1. Name one area where you’ve doubted His goodness.

2. Pray this prayer: “Father, I choose to believe You are good, and I receive Your goodness here.”

3. Look for evidence of His goodness this week and write it down.

As you do, you’ll begin to notice something: His goodness has been chasing you all along.