there ’ s a song called “ Good ( Can ’ t Be Anything Else )”. So , I just sensed , “ Man , there ’ s such a theme here in this collection of songs , it has to be something around this good idea .”
And the statement , “ God is good ” is something we ’ ve heard so much , we use it all the time , and we ’ ve used it for decades in the church , but I felt like it was really potent for now . It was almost like it needed to come back around and be said again in the season we ’ ve just come out of with the devastation of COVID and lockdowns and all the things that came with that and all the fear , and all the uncertainty , and all of the questioning and really everybody ’ s head spinning . It was like , “ Let ’ s come back to the simple truth that , yeah , God is good , and He is who He says He is .”
[ WM ] Tell us about the songs “ Good ( Can ’ t Be Anything Else )”, and “ Forever & Amen ”, which includes your wife , Kari .
Good ( Can ’ t Be Anything Else )
[ Cody ] Yes . I wrote “ Good ” with the Aodhan King , who ’ s from a Hillsong camp . He ’ s an amazing writer and friend and worship leader . The chorus says , “ You are good . You can only be good . You can ’ t be anything else .” And it was really this idea of thinking about God is good is not just a statement that means it ’ s a characteristic of who He is , it ’ s actually the very essence of who He is . He ’ s made up of good and God can ’ t be what he ’ s not . He can ’ t be anything opposite of himself or he never changes . And so , it was the idea that you ’ re not just a good God , but you actually are good and everything good comes from you . It ’ s this He ’ s the central figure of goodness that we know and everything good that we know actually does derive from God . So really just this idea of that .
And also I ’ ve seen the goodness in my life . It talks about looking back on your life , as in “ hindsight is 20 / 20 ”. I can see the way that His mercy was actually shutting doors when I thought they were disappointments , they actually were Him saving me . I can see all the ways , looking back at my life , that He ’ s been good and that He has been with me through the ups and the downs .” And so it ’ s just that reflection of , “ Man , God is really good and I ’ ve seen it .” The Bible says his goodness and his mercy is chasing us all the days of our life .
And then “ Forever and Amen ” is a song about prayer . It ’ s written from the Lord ’ s Prayer . It ’ s photo : Ashley Wright