We sing the song in church, “You’re a good, good Father. It’s who you are, it’s who you are and I’m loved by You. It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am.” We are comforted in the fact that God is so good to us, so good that He holds us as a Father holds his child.

But do we always feel like He’s good to us? Or do we question what He is doing in our lives?

My mother was a very devout Christian. She was an ordained pastor who sometimes preached, taught and was an amazing prayer warrior. She also mentored many who were struggling or in desperate situations. She loved to study the Bible. Not because she had to. She just loved it. Jesus was her best friend. She was so devoted to Him.

But something happened. About 8 years ago, my Mom started getting very tired. She would get weak and had no energy. She didn’t know why. She was an energetic person. She felt so bad she got very depressed and she didn’t know what was going on. She had had “situational depression” before, but she felt this was for no reason other than being tired. She would sit and sit in her chair in her robe staring. I tried to share tips with her since I deal with depression and have for years. She told me nothing seemed to work. One thing I told her was to keep Christian radio on all day. So she tried that. She did like that. But she said she didn’t like that they played the same songs a lot. One that they played a lot was “Good, Good Father.” She would get it stuck in her head. And one day her little country twang voice came out like my Grandma’s, who was raised in Kentucky. She said “I’m so tired of that song.” Sarcastically she said…”He’s a good Father, it’s who He is, who He was, who He will be, who He is now….and on and on she went.” She was very annoyed with the song.

But as I later thought about it, it wasn’t just because the song was played all day. It wasn’t just because of the repetitive words. It was because my Mom was questioning, “Is God really a good, good Father?” If so, why did she feel this way? She had never felt this way. God was her life, her peace and her JOY. But her faith was so weak at that point in time.

Later, we found out Mom had a rare form of cancer. It was hard to detect. That is why she was tired and weak for so long with no explanation of why. Obviously, at this point, fear arose. The days to come were very scary but over time God began to restore my Mom’s faith to believe for Him to heal her and help her through this. She needed her Father. She began to have hope arise again and she believed no matter what that God was truly a good, good Father and that she would need to lean into her Father’s arms to get through this.

Mom had to undergo a surgery, treatments and radiation. But her cancer went into remission never to return. That is the good, good Father we serve.

In the days to come, I can remember several days in church when I would be standing next to Mom and they would begin to sing that song and we’d look at each other and smile and try not to laugh because of the memory of her little twangy version of that song she sang when she was depressed. It became kind of a joke with us. But then as we saw the words displayed on the screen and began to sing them we remembered back to when Mom’s faith was so wavering. And I would look over at her and be so thankful that our good, good Father had touched my Mom and she rejoiced also. My mom passed away December 23, 2020 of Covid and many times I have also questioned, “If God is really a good Father, why did He let this happen?” But then I am reminded of when my Mom’s faith wavered but then as time went on, her faith was restored and she knew her Father was holding every moment of her life. This too is my desire, that my faith would be in my Father no matter what comes my way…I trust Him.

So if you are going through something hard, maybe the hardest thing you’ve ever been through, maybe you are questioning if God is really good. Does a Father desire to see His child hurt? Would a good Father actually want this for His child?

The answer is…nothing happens to you that God does not know the outcome. Nothing you go through is invisible to God. He is not punishing you. He knows you are going to make it through this. He is refining you through this fire. If an “earthly” Father sees his child fall down and break a bone, he is upset and sad for his child but he knows that in time that bone will heal. As a child, they cannot fully understand that that bone will heal. They just know that in the moment it hurts really bad! And they are very sad that they have to wear a cast, they can’t play on the playground or they can’t play on the soccer team. It’s hard to explain to them that it will get better because in the now it’s really, really hard. The same goes for us when we are struggling or suffering. In the now we don’t always understand the pain we are going through. But our heavenly Father knows the beginning and the ending. He knows ALL! He knows our brokeness will mend and heal and that through the process He will grow our faith as we lean on Him and trust Him more.

Come to the Father today. He wants to hold you. Don’t hold back from Him or push Him away. He truly is a good Father. But is He?…yes, yes He is. Always.

James 1:17-Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Psalm 103:13-Like a Father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.