Is God good?

Is God good?  Silly question, isn’t it?

And yet we believers often pray as if we doubt that he cares.

That’s especially true if things are going badly in our lives.  Perhaps we’re suffering a serious illness or a spouse has left us and God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers the way we wish.

Still, the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that God works everything for the good of those who love the Lord.

Is that true?  What about the child who is killed by a drunken driver?  Shouldn’t God have prevented that?

Well, Paul didn’t say that lightly.  He was familiar with suffering and death.  He was left for dead after a stoning and was whipped to an inch of his life.  He was imprisoned several times.

Amazingly, Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that “I have learned to be content with whatever I have”.  I confess that I have grumbled about my lot periodically over the years.

I believe our prayers depend a great deal on how we view God.  If we believe he doesn’t care at all, we may never pray.

Why did Paul pray with such power and hope?

He tells us in Philippians 3:12-14 that he is running the race of faith to “receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”.

His eyes are on Jesus and his future with God in heaven.

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better,” says Paul in Philippians 1:21.  Dying meant he would be with Jesus, his loving Lord.

In his book Power in Praise, Merlin Carothers tells the story of a young man named Charles who became a radiant Christian but fell victim to cancer just six months later.  Healing prayer led to remission.  A few months later he died suddenly from brain cancer.

A pastor friend was on the plane to speak at Charles’ funeral and shared with people on the way where he was going and why.  He told them about Charles’ powerful faith and two of his listeners became believers.  Another two accepted Christ after the service.

His young wife radiated Christ at the funeral and remarked to the pastor that “death is swallowed up in victory” - quoting the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54.

I’m not saying that pain and suffering is easy to bear.  It isn’t.  I hate pain.

But pain and disappointment in life should not change our view of God.  He loves us and cares for us and has a wonderful future for us with him in eternity.

He is a good God.