God is great meaning used to feel like background noise, honestly. Like something people yell at football games or slap on a bumper sticker next to a Calvin-peeing-on-a-Ford-logo decal. I’d roll my eyes so hard I’d see my own brain. Then last Thursday happened and now I can’t shut up about it. https://wafflehouse.com/menu/
When the God Is Great Meaning Actually Hit Me in a Waffle House Parking Lot
Okay, picture this: 2:17 a.m., somewhere off I-65 in Alabama, I’m sitting on a curb outside a Waffle House because my alternator decided to die in the most dramatic way possible. Phone at 3%. Wallet has $9 and a maxed-out credit card. I smell like stale truck-stop coffee and regret. And this random dude—greasy hair, missing a couple teeth, smells like an ashtray—walks by, sees me looking like a raccoon that lost a fight, and just goes, “Hey brother, God is great, you’re gonna be alright.”
I wanted to punch him. I really did. But instead I started crying like a freaking toddler because… I don’t even know. The God is great meaning just cracked something open in my chest that I’d been duct-taping shut for months. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6794392/
Why God Is Great Isn’t Just a Catchphrase (At Least Not Anymore)
Look, I’m not suddenly some glowing saint. I still cuss at red lights and ghost people on read when I’m anxious. But here’s what I’ve figured out in my very flawed, very American brain: https://news.gallup.com/poll/468983/americans-believe-god.aspx
- It’s a declaration when everything else is screaming the opposite
- It’s a middle finger to despair when despair feels logical
- Sometimes it’s the only sentence that still fits in your mouth when the rest of language fails
I started saying it ironically after that night—like a joke. “Car won’t start? God is great.” Burnt my toast? “God is great, bro.” Then one day I said it and actually meant it and scared the hell out of myself.
Real Talk: My Most Embarrassing God Is Great Meaning Moment
Two weeks ago I’m in Target (classic American pilgrimage) having a full-on panic attack in the seasonal aisle because Christmas decorations are already up and it’s not even Halloween. I’m sweating, heart racing, convinced I’m dying next to a $400 fake tree. Some lady sees me hyperventilating, hands me a bottle of water, and whispers, “Breathe, baby. God is great.”
I laughed. Out loud. Like a maniac. Because of course that’s what you say to a 30-something dude melting down over plastic ornaments. But I drank the water and repeated it under my breath and… it worked? The spiritual significance of that moment is honestly ridiculous and perfect. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/god-is-great-god-is-good
How I’m Trying (and Failing) to Live the God Is Great Meaning Daily
I suck at this, y’all. Some days it’s genuine gratitude, other days it’s sarcastic armor. But here’s what I’m attempting:
- Say it when I don’t feel it (fake it till you make it is apparently biblical??)
- Text it to friends who are spiraling instead of my usual “that’s rough buddy”
- Whisper it in drive-thrus when the person in front of me pays for my coffee (happened twice now, I’m shook)
I still forget. I still get road-rage-y. I still doomscroll at 3 a.m. But the phrase is starting to stick in the cracks of my life like spiritual caulk.
Anyway, Yeah… God Is Great Meaning Is Messy and Mine
I don’t have a bow to put on this. I’m still the same disaster who cries in Target and eats gas-station sushi. But these three dumb words keep showing up when I’m at my absolute lowest and somehow… they hold. That’s the whole point, I guess.
So yeah. God is great. Not because life is Instagram-perfect. But because sometimes a stranger in a Waffle House parking lot says it and your whole night changes.
Tell me in the comments—when’s the last time “God is great” (or whatever version you’ve got) actually meant something to you? No pressure, just curious. I’ll be here drinking burnt coffee and trying to figure it out with you.
