Don't say "... but God is good"
The title of this might be slightly misleading. It’s actually okay to use the phrase “but God is good.” … “This is hard, but God is good… I’m devastated, but God is good” are acceptable things to say.
However, I think something unforeseen can happen when we phrase things like this. We subconsciously separate God’s goodness from our present situation. On one hand, we have the devastating effects of COVID, and on the other hand we have God’s goodness, and we tend to mentally keep these things separate. We say “This is really hard, but on the other side of this thing... God is still good.” While there is truth in this, that God’s goodness is waiting for us on the other side, it implies it isn’t present in the midst of it. We separate the spiritual reality of God’s goodness from the material reality of sin and sickness. Two quick reminders to help us exclaim, “This is hard and God is good.”
God’s goodness to us is found in his presence
I have a huge stack of papers on my nightstand listing God’s promises to us in the Bible. Most of them in some way or another are God promising to be with us, to stay close to us and to love us, long before we are promised material provision. I think Paul understood this in Philippians 4 when he says “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound… I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” His contentment had nothing to do with his circumstance - whether he was brought low or high, whether he was hungry or had plenty - he was content because it was God who strengthened him; it was the presence of God that sustained him before food or shelter did. Paul understood God’s best and ultimate provision to us is his presence, and his presence is not dependent on our current condition. This frees us to fully acknowledge the horrible things going on in our lives and in the world, and still proclaim God is good.
Look to the Cross
If you want to see a time and place where the grandeur of evil and God’s goodness are on display at the same time and in the same place, look no further than the cross. What an evil, horrendous act devised by men, delivering up the innocent God-man to be crucified. Yet what a merciful, selfless, good act of Christ to willingly die on a cross for the very people who sin against him. Both evil and good are present here.
The evil of sin met the goodness and mercy of God at the cross- and God overcame it in the end. We can cling to the hope that God not only overcomes evil when all is said and done, but he’s also a good God to us in the middle of it. We are free to say this is hard and God is good.