IS GOD GOOD?
Psalm 100:5
An older gentleman was on the golf green about to putt. A foursome was behind him, waiting for him to finish the hole. About the time he was to ready to putt, on the road beside the golf course, a shiny black hearse pulled into view, followed by an entourage of some fifty cars. When the older gentleman saw the funeral processional, he immediately took off his hat, placed it over his heart, and stood at a respectful attention until all fifty cars had slowly passed by. Then, he put his hat on, tapped his ball into the hole, and walked on to the next tee. The members of the foursome were impressed. When they caught up with the older gentleman several holes later, one of the golfers said to the older man, "It has been a long time since we have witnessed such a display of respect and dignity." The older gentleman replied, "Well, it's the least I could do...On Monday, we would have been married fifty years!"
Now, very few, if any of us, face death or tragedy with such a cavalier, uncaring, or unaffected attitude. That is especially true when the death of a friend or a loved one is involved or when a tragedy strikes really close to home. We usually have no problems dealing with the faraway problems, it's the ones that are personal that cause us to struggle and to question.
In one of the shows on the now canceled Home Improvement show, the show turned to the subject of religion, always a dangerous subject for a TV sitcom. Randy, the middle son, was serving as a volunteer in a local nursing home. He was assigned to visit an elderly woman who lived in the nursing home. As Randy visited with her, he became quite concerned about her health and impending death. Randy struggled to understand the relationship between his faith and her death. He struggled with his own death and with his own relationship in God. The show ended, as you might expect, with no easy answers or even good answers about the end of life or how we should relate to God in those difficult times.
You know, I have found in my years as a pastor that most of us, in times of tragedy and disappointment and death, begin to think about God. We may go for years without thinking much about God or struggling with understanding God or struggling with what the Bible teaches about God; however, in the difficult and trying times of life, we often struggle to understand how a good God could allow suffering or death or pain. We struggle as we try to balance our pain with what we have been taught in church: that God is a really good God. To be perfectly honest, the scales don't always seem to balance out in life like they seem to do in church, do they?
In church, we sing about God's goodness as we sing the little chorus: "God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He's so good to me." As parents, we teach our children to pray about God's goodness as we teach them to say their first blessing at a meal: "God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food." As we study the Bible, we read in the Bible about His goodness. Psalm 100:5 says: "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Now, I realize that if I were to ask you this morning "Is God good?' almost all of us would say "Yes, God is good." I realize that is a fairly safe question for a preacher to ask to a Sunday morning crowd. However, if I were to stop by your home on Tuesday night, after God had told you "no" to something that was very important to you, would you still say that God is good? Think about it for a minute. If I were to stop by the funeral home on Thursday afternoon, after you had experienced a death in your family, would you still think that God is any less good when He lets a loved one die than when He lets a loved one live? Is God any less good if a fatal disease strikes a friend, instead of healing the person you have prayed for so faithfully? Let me ask that another way. Is it possible to say that God is good even in the midst of tragedy and disappointment?
Now, I'll be perfectly honest with you this morning. I do not have all of the answers today. I have to tell you, I still struggle with these questions just as you do. But, I have learned, that if I am struggling with a problem, if I am struggling with a question about God or about His goodness, I have learned that I have a resource to turn to. When I struggle with God or when I struggle with my relationship to Him, I have the Bible, God's holy Word to use as my guide. So, when I struggle with the difficult questions of disaster or death or pain or suffering, I turn to the Word of God. As I look at God's Word, I find God's answers to my hard questions.
Is God good? I must tell you up front this morning, that I have always found the answer to that question to be "yes!" God is good. Even though I may not always understand what God is doing or why He is doing it, I have always found that God is good. Even though I still struggle with questions and have problems, I have learned that God is always good. Even though I don't have all of the answers, I have learned that God is always good. How can I say that with such power? How can I have such certainty today in declaring that God is a good God? Again, the answers are in the Word of God. Let's notice what the Bible teaches us about God's goodness.
The first answer I find is this: GOD IS GOOD BECAUSE HE PROVIDES FRIENDS AND FAMILY FOR SUPPORT IN OUR TIME OF NEED. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, the writer said, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
I know that you know this, but let me say it anyway. This world is too cruel a place to face alone. This world is a frightening place to endure by yourself. Now, that is true in every day life and that is true in the major events of life. I suppose you followed the news stories a couple of years ago of the family in Iowa who had seven babies. You know, I can't even imagine or want to imagine having seven babies at one time! It has been estimated that the seven babies will go through 49 diapers a day! Think about the 2:00 AM feedings! What was refreshing about the story was the outpouring of support for the family. A new fifteen passenger van was donated to them. Diapers, formula, money, offers of support and help from around the country flooded in. As difficult as it would be to give birth to and to raise seven children, just imagine going through a situation like that with no help or support.
I have been following the news out of Mobile lately. As you know, the news has not been good. International Paper is about to close. Very soon, there will be 800 people laid off. How will those individuals be able to make it? How will those individuals be able to get their feet back on the ground? Will they be able to survive without help? Probably not!
Now, those are some heavy issues, aren't they? However, think about other events that we face regularly. We are, at times, called upon to face the reality of death. We are called upon to face the sickness of a loved one. Maybe we are called upon to face our own sickness. Unfortunately, at times, we are called upon to face the rebellion of a child. We are called upon to face the suffering of an elderly parent in another town or state.
How can a person possibly handle those problems? The answer is simple to say, but is difficult to do. We must realize that God's plan was never for us to go through life alone. God, in His marvelous goodness and wisdom, has provided family and friends to affirm, encourage, and support us during the difficult times of life. God has given us family and friends to lean on in times of mourning, hurt, suffering, or pain. Yes, God is good because He gives us friends and family.
Then secondly, we should see that GOD IS GOOD BECAUSE HE HAS PREPARED A WAY FOR US TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIM. Look at James 5:13. James said, "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." What was James saying? Simple. When time of trouble comes, we must not forget to pray. When we are over our head, we should pray. When we don't see a way out, pray. When times are good and God is blessing, pray. Why is prayer so important? Simple. Prayer is the communication link between us and God. Prayer gives us the opportunity to talk with God and to listen to Him.
Now, if that doesn't get you excited, think of it this way. God, the Master and Creator of the universe, the One who made everything that has ever been, that is, or will ever be, wants you and me to have direct assess and connection to Him. Let me say that again. God, the Creator of everything, desires to have a relationship with you. Even though we are sinners and unworthy of God's presence in our life, God still desires to communicate with each of us.
Where do we begin with that communication with God, with that relationship with God? Again, the answer is so simple. God said that we should pray. You see, prayer is our hotline to God. When we talk to God via His prayer channel, we get no interference or interruption. When we talk to God through prayer, we never get put on hold. When we talk to God through prayer, we never get a busy signal, we never get cut off, we are never out of range, and we never get a wrong number. What a marvelous blessing we have in prayer. God is good because He wants to communicate with us.
Now, thirdly, we should see that GOD IS GOOD BECAUSE HE PLANNED A CHURCH FOR OUR ENCOURAGEMENT. Notice Hebrews 10:25. In Hebrews, the writer said, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
What was God telling us in that passage? God was reminding us how important it is for us to gather with other Christians in a time of worship. Now, I know many of the arguments. "Well pastor, I couldn't be in church, I had other things to do." Or, "Pastor, my family was in town and they didn't bring anything with them to wear to church." Or, "Pastor, you know how it is, we work five days a week, the kids participate in sports on Saturday, Sunday is our only day we have as a family."
Please don't misunderstand me. I do not want to be judgmental or unfair. I realize that we live in a stressful time. The pace of life is enough to disorient or destroy even the healthiest of families. However, listen to me carefully. Even though life is fast paced and often difficult, we cannot allow life, sports, work, or anything else to interfere with or interrupt our relationship with God.
Beloved, you and I constantly need time with God. We need time in prayer. We need time in Bible study. We need time in worship. We need time to build our relationship with God. And yes, we need time in fellowship with other Christians.
Now, before I go any further, let me remind you of a couple of things at this point. While church attendance is important and will help you in your spiritual growth, simply going to church will not save you or give you a place in heaven. Listen to me. As important as going to church is, we must not lose sight of what the real church is. While the church may meet in a building, the church is not a building.
Listen to me very carefully. The church building could burn tomorrow, but the church of Jesus Christ would live on. This church that meets at the corner of Highway 136 and Kelly Street could cease tomorrow to be a church, but the true church of Jesus Christ will never die. Why? Simple. The true church is people. This church, Excel Baptist Church, must be made up of more than just mortar and bricks and wood. This church, Excel Baptist Church, must be made up of people, people in love with Jesus Christ. This church must be made up of people on fire for God. This church must be made up of people who are willing to put God first in their life, in their jobs, in their family, and in their salvation. When we face life's tragedies and disappointments, we need people, not a building. God is good to plan a church for our encouragement.
Then finally, GOD IS GOOD BECAUSE HE GAVE US JESUS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF TRAGEDY AND DEATH. Look at what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:21- 22. Paul said, "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive." What was Paul saying? Paul reminded us that Jesus conquered death once and for all through His resurrection from the grave. Because of Jesus, we have hope even in the midst of death. Because of Jesus' resurrection, we know that death is not the end of life. Because of Jesus' resurrection, we have a quiet, calm assurance that we will live forever with Him.
God was so good to send Jesus to take the sting out of death, to provide us a way out of our sin, and to give us victory in death. A man and his daughter were out for an afternoon drive. As they drove along, a bee flew in the window. His young daughter was allergic to bees and went into a panic. Because of the heavy traffic, the father could not pull off the road onto the shoulder. So, he grabbed the bee in his hand. He held the bee in his hand until it stung him. Then he let the bee go. As his daughter continued to squirm in her seat to avoid the bee, the father held open his hand and said, "Don't be afraid. The bee can't hurt you now."
That illustration gives us a similar reminder about what God does for us. God paid the price for our sins through Jesus Christ, His Son, dying on the cross. Jesus' death is a free gift, offered to anyone who will accept it. Now, it is a gift. God does not force His love and forgiveness on anyone. Only those who will accept this gift of Jesus will God give salvation. God is good, even in the mist of tragedy and death.
A precocious little four-year-old girl was brought to the emergency room with a severe cough. Even though she was coughing, the little girl would not stop talking. The nurse continued to try to get the little girl to quit talking as the doctor tried to finish the exam. The little girl simply would not stop talking. Finally, the doctor said, "Shhh, I have to listen to your heart to see if Barney is in there." The child looked at the doctor and calmly stated, "I have Jesus in my heart. Barney is on my underwear."
My friends, the only way you will find the freedom you are looking for is to run to Jesus, not away from Him. The only way you will find help in your time of trouble, joy in your time of sorrow, and help in your time of weakness, is to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
In Jesus, you will find hope. In Jesus, you will find certainty. In Jesus, you will find salvation. Stop running away. Stop looking everywhere else for answers. Stop depending upon yourself. Look to Jesus for your hope.
