My God is Good

Well as many of you know I (Nathan) work at a funeral home and today we held a funeral for a 4 year-old little boy at a local church, and to say the least, it really tore me up. His name was Jacob and I watched the service from the balcony and cried through the whole thing. I had no idea who this little boy was nor did I know his family or anyone else that was involved in his life. But I heard testimony after testimony about this child. He had some sort of heart disease that ultimately led to heart failure and he had to wear a black backpack with his medical equipment in it everywhere he went. I watched a picture slideshow that played his favorite songs: You got a friend in me (Toy Story) and Jesus Loves Me (Veggie Tales). And I saw him wearing two things in every picture: that little black backpack and a big smile. Both preachers during the service attained to the joy this child had for life and how he never once complained about anything. Ever. I can’t imagine that. I like to complain when things don’t go my way, when I don’t get to work where I want or get to go do what I want. But this kid had to wear a backpack all day every day and undoubtedly had to be exhausted. But he just kept smiling and living with joy the life God had given him.

The pastors talked about David and how he lost his son (2 Samuel 12). He fasted, wept, and spent the nights lying on the ground until his son passed. And when his son died, he entered into the house of the Lord and worshipped. I don’t have any children, but I absolutely cannot imagine losing your 4 year-old son. One of the pastors told how he was with the family at Vanderbilt Medical Center when Jacob passed and he was in a position to overhear Jacob’s final conversation with his mother and father. They held their son in their arms and explained to him that it was time for them to let him go. It was time for Jacob to be healed. As I said earlier, I cannot imagine the overwhelming grief that must come upon you when you lose a child, but I cannot even begin to fathom having to hold your son in your arms and tell him that it is time for him to go. But that is exactly what God did. He told His own Son that it was time for Him to go, that it was time for Him to go so that we could have healing.

Christ died for us so that we could be forgiven and that we could be healed from all the hurt and pain and evil in this world. We can be healed from abuse we have suffered, from addictions we have given into over and over again, from our parents’ divorce, from a cheating spouse. Little Jacob’s death was certainly sad, but it was also such a beautiful picture of God’s love for us. I pray that I could have such a faith and joy as this little child:

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

-Matthew 18:2-5


It was easy to see Jesus in little Jacob, in a faith so simple, so loving, and so trusting. Let us strive to have a faith such as this, a faith that trusts, believes, hopes, loves, and endures. And let us praise our God in all that we do, in all that we say, in all that we think. Let us praise Him when our world seems like it is crashing in, when we lose our children, or our parents, or our husband or wife, or our job, or our bank account, or our health. Our God certainly deserves all of our praise at all times, not just when everything is going good for us.

If you have not tasted the goodness of our Holy and Sovereign God, know this: He held is own Son in His arms and told Him that it was time for Him to go that you might have forgiveness and healing, healing from anything you have ever done, thought or said, or anything that anyone has ever done to you. My God is good. He is good all the time. All the time He is good. He is good when a precious 4 year-old boy dies. He is good when a family is starving in a foreign country. He is good when a family is starving in our own country. He is good when you lose your job. He is good when you are diagnosed with cancer. He is good when your parents get a divorce. He is good when you get a divorce. He is good in the midst of abuse. He is good. He is good.

And my He has already won. He will come back (1 Thessalonians 4:16) and He will be victorious. And those of us who have tasted the goodness of His Spirit and given our lives to Him will have victory too. We will have healing in this life. And one day we will gather around His throne and sing praise to His name for all of eternity!

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!