The Benefit of Doubt | Why Would I believe God is Good | Drew Sherman

Amen. Welcome to Compass. Sing this with me. Your way is a lamp unto my feet. Your way is the only way for me. It's a narrow road that leads to the light, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road, but the mercy is wide, and I'll build on your promise. I'll take you at your word. If you said it, I'll believe. I've seen how good it was. If you start it, you'll complete it. I'll take you at your word. You spoke, and the chaos fell in. Because I know, because I've seen it in my life. It's a narrow road that leads to the light, but I want to be on it. It's a narrow road, the tide is high, but you're part of the water. I'll take you at your word. If you said it, I'll believe. I've seen how good it was. If you start it, you'll complete it. I'll take you at your word. You said your love will never give up. You said your grace is always enough. You said your heart will never forget or forsake me. You said I'm safe. You call me yours.

You said my future's full of your hope. You never fail, so I know that you'll never fail me. I'll take you at your word. If you said it, I'll believe. I've seen how good it was. If you start it, you'll complete it. I'll take you at your word. If you said it, I'll believe. I've seen how good it was. If you start it, you'll complete it. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. I'll take you at your word. It never fails me, all my days I've been held in your hands From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God And all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God I love your voice

Oh, you have led me through the fire In darkest night, you are close like no other I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend And I have lived in the goodness of God And all my life you have been faithful Yes you have Lord And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Your goodness is running after, it's running after me With my life laid down, I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Thank you Jesus Your goodness is running after, it's running after me With my life laid down, I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Yes Lord And all my life And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God Yes, I will sing of the goodness of God Amen, amen. Amen. Church, he loves to hear your worship. Would you pray with me tonight? Father, we thank you so much for who you are.

You are so good. We thank you for your kindness today. We thank you for your mercy today. We thank you for your presence today. And God, we lift our heart of worship to you. We're a grateful people. And God, we love you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Every voice in this place, lift up your song. Oh, you've been so good to me Come on, we sing. I call you faithful For the promises you've kept And every need you've met Lord, I'm so grateful You were with me every step ♪ And I never will forget ♪ ♪ Oh, when I think of how you've blessed me ♪ ♪ How your hand has never let me go ♪ ♪ You've never let me go ♪ ♪ Oh, you have been so good to me ♪ ♪ And God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ What a friend you have been, so good to me ♪ ♪ And God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ What a friend you have been, oh ♪ ♪ What a friend we have, we say ♪ ♪ And I call you Savior ♪ ♪ For the blood that washed me clean ♪ ♪ For the wrong that you've redeemed ♪ ♪ And I know you're able ♪

♪ Oh, my eyes are not deceived ♪ ♪ One more reason to believe ♪ ♪ Oh, when I think of how you've blessed me ♪ ♪ How your hand has never left me low ♪ ♪ You'll never have me low ♪ ♪ Oh, you have been so good to me ♪ ♪ And God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ What a friend you have been, so good to me ♪ ♪ So good to me, and God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ What a friend you have been, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, look at Jesus, oh, look at Jesus, oh, sing ♪ ♪ For every morning and for every opening night ♪ ♪ Oh, I call you faithful, and I just wanna thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ For every mountain, for every trial you've brought me through ♪ ♪ I call you faithful, and I just wanna thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ For your forgiveness, for how you never turn away ♪ ♪ I call you faithful, and I just wanna thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ For this salvation you paid the price I couldn't pay ♪ ♪ I call you faithful, and I just wanna thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, I just wanna thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh♪ ♪ We just wanna thank you, Lord, come on we'll sing ♪ ♪ Oh, you have been so good to me, lift it up ♪ ♪ God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ And what a friend you have been, so good to me ♪ ♪ And God, I can't believe how you love me ♪ ♪ How you love me, what a friend you have been ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah ♪

♪♪♪ What should I do when I doubt God's goodness? Why doesn't God answer my prayers? Why doesn't God answer my prayers? Doesn't science disprove the Bible? Why would God provide only one way to heaven? Why believe in Jesus when his followers are such hypocrites? Such hypocrites. Why does God sometimes feel so far away? Why does God feel so distant? Why do I doubt? Why do I doubt? Why do I doubt? Why do I doubt? Why would God love me? Why would God love me? Why would God love me? Why should I believe God? How can I trust in God when it hurts? When it hurts. We all have these questions, so let's talk about it. So let's talk about it. Well, welcome to Compass. Our mission is navigating people to God. I want to welcome those of you that are watching out at Roanoke and, and MidCities and Colleyville, and of course the men of the Allred unit in Wichita Falls, we welcome all of you to one of those rare, bitter, cold Texas weekends. We just hope that you and your family are warm and safe today. And we're so glad that you're worshiping with us today.

Hey, before we begin, I want to speak to the men of Compass and all the men watching online today. I want to give a plug for the gaininggroundmen.com website. There's momentum around this new ministry called Gaining Ground. And man, I would like you to go to that website and I would love for you to try our first gathering. It's called First Wednesday. It's on February the 4th. You just go to gaininggroundmen.com and you can click on that get started icon and click on the gatherings and you can register there. My son, Landon Sherman and I are kind of leading this charge and we want you to be a part of this brand new journey with men at Compass, so please pray about being part of Gaining Ground. Hey, I hope you're ready today as we dive into week three of this series called The Benefit of Doubt, and I hope you have your study guides today. There's still a chance to download those study guides if you don't have one, but I'm going to start with this. I'm a grandpa. If you've been around Compass for a while, you know that I'm a proud grandfather. They call me Pops and I have seven grandkids, four under the age of seven. And we call them the littles and I love being a Pops. I love being a grandparent, but I will tell you that sometimes you have to suffer through things that toddlers like, like, I'll give you some examples. I've had to listen to that baby shark song 1 billion times, right? I've sat through so many episodes of Bluey and Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol, which I actually like, and you find yourself thinking, man, I wish I liked more of what they liked. Like our time would be like more enjoyable. And then I found out that the littles, for whatever reason, they like the music of Forrest Frank.

Now, I don't know if you've ever heard Forrest Frank, but I love his music. So I found out they like him and I'm like, look, I like the music of Forrest Frank. And so it was awesome that we shared a similar passion. And my favorite song of Forrest Frank is just called God is Good. God is good. And the lyrics are a play off a statement that we hear in Christian circles all the time. And if you know it, you can say it out loud and help me finish it. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. And while it's true that I don't know Forrest Frank, I'll bet he reads the Psalms because, and I'm willing to bet that he got this idea from this Psalm in Psalm 106, it says this, praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. What a great verse, praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. But when you're going through a difficult season, or if you're going through a season where it seems as though he rewards your faithfulness with some kind of hardship, it makes you want to question his goodness sometimes. I am serious. I'll be honest today. I've been there. Like I've had a few tough moments in ministry, days I wanted God to come through and it just, it just felt like he didn't. Like tough days in my personal life where I, I called on the name of the Lord and it felt like no one was listening. In 2009, when my dad slipped into year five of dementia, I had a lot of wrestling matches in my mind with God. Like, how could you let this happen?

Maybe you've had moments like that. Maybe it was a hospital room where the diagnosis wasn't what you prayed for. Maybe it was a biopsy where you begged God to intervene, but maybe he didn't. Maybe you've prayed diligently for that, for that child that you so desperately wanted, but so far those prayers have gone largely unanswered. Maybe you just look around at the world and you see innocent people suffering, and it's kind of hard to wrap your arms around a good God in light of all of that. Because when the questions come, when they start to swirl and our doubts start to become louder than our faith, what do we do? What do we do when the questions fill? heavier than the answer. Like questions like, is God really good all the time? Like if God is good, then why do I hurt so much? If God is powerful, why doesn't he fix what's broken? If God can do anything, why doesn't he do what his word says he can do? If you've never had questions like that, I mean, praise God, good for you. But for most of us, it's not a matter of if we'll have faith questions, but when, and here's the good news. Having these kinds of questions doesn't disqualify us. They're not an indicator that we've lost our faith. Doubt is not the enemy of faith. We've said this throughout this series. Doubt can actually be a doorway to a deeper, richer faith. And listen, if you've ever doubted God because of something that seems unfair, you're not alone. This is something people have been wrestling with and struggling with since the beginning of time.

And here's what I love. The Bible doesn't shy away from this tension. It doesn't hide the hard questions. It doesn't edit out cries of pain. There was a guy named Job who sat in ashes and asked why he was even born. He says, why did I not perish at birth? Why did I not die as I came from the womb? David wrote some Psalms that sounded more like laments. David says, how long, Lord? How long will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Habakkuk, who we were actually gonna study next week, he looked at the injustice in the world and he just said, why must I watch all this misery? Asaph, who was actually the worship leader at the tabernacle, he wrote some of the Psalms. And he says, for I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives. Their bodies are so healthy and strong. He's saying, look at these prideful people, flawless skin, rock solid abs, TikTok's going viral while they sip on their oat milk lattes and they've got the nicest stuff. Meanwhile, I'm over here trying to live my life for you, Lord, and I'm struggling. I don't know if you've ever felt that way. Like Asaph basically says, I'm over here with a dad bod and unanswered prayers and they're out there

looking all cut and trending on TikTok. Maybe you felt like that sort of resentment. I mean, look at how he concludes the Psalm. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long. Every morning brings me pain. These aren't sanitized prayers. There's raw, unfiltered cries of the heart. And these verses show us that the Bible is not a book of easy answers. It's a book of real people wrestling with real pain, crying out to a real God. And in every single case, God doesn't rebuke them for asking. He meets them in the middle of their questions. Actually, I find it interesting that the Bible doesn't protect the image of God by censoring talk of evil or suffering. It seems to highlight it. I've always felt that one of the greatest clues to the authenticity of the word of God is its sheer honesty and rawness. And it leaves me to wonder, like why would God show us so many examples of his chosen faithful servants complaining about him and questioning his goodness? Doesn't that seem bad for business? I think the answer might lean toward the fact that God wants us to learn that he can be loving

and allow suffering at the same time. That there is a lower story that you and I can see. And sometimes it feels real and raw and a bit unfair. And then there's an upper story that only God can see in all of his sovereignty. Pastor Craig Rochelle, in the book, The Benefit of Doubt, we've mentioned numerous times. It's been the inspiration for this series. He says something that I think is so important for us to understand. He says, faith is not the absence of doubt. Faith is the courage to trust God in the midst of doubt. I mean, understanding that changes everything because it means your questions don't disqualify you. Your doubts don't push God away. In fact, they can be the very doorway to a deeper faith. Think of it like resistance training for a moment. My wife, Michelle and I, we lift weights three times a week because there seems to be a real link between muscle mass and longevity. We make fun of ourselves, we call it geriatric CrossFit. So we're trying to build more strength and muscle when we go to our sessions with our trainer, Mitch Griffin. We try to keep increasing the weight and we're lifting. greater weight in order to build up greater resistance. And so we just add a little bit of weight. At our age, we don't lift heavy, but we try just to add just a little bit more each rep just to face a little resistance.

Now, doubt is a form of spiritual resistance. And when you push against it, when you wrestle with it, honesty, honestly, your faith muscles are growing stronger. And I know that this can actually seem counterintuitive, but doubt can actually be a gift because it forces you to move beyond a cliche statement like God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. It forces you to move to a deeper encounter with God's character. So if your doubts feel louder than your faith, just know this friend, you're not alone, you're not broken, you're not disqualified. And God's not afraid of your questions. He welcomes them, He wants to meet you in them. I say all this with the complete understanding today that some of you are still thinking, look, if God is good, if God is loving, then why is there suffering in the world? Why doesn't He just get rid of it? We think if God is good, then my parents would stay together. If God is good, I wouldn't feel lonely. If God is good, I wouldn't have cancer. If God is good, my baby would have lived. I would have got the job, my prayers would get answered. I would guess every one of us has had this train of thought at some time or another. Like why does God allow suffering? Why would a good God allow that?

Well, there are some obvious reasons, and this is where I wish I had time to lean into this. I think we could do a whole series on this, right? But I just wanna mention a few possible reasons. And then I wanna get to one that I think is at the core, at the heart of the matter. I think sometimes suffering is a result of our own sin, our own foolish choices. I think if we're honest, we would admit that. I think sometimes it's a result of someone else's sin. Sometimes evil happens on behalf of someone else toward us. Sometimes it's a testing or refining of faith. Sometimes it's as simple as the fact that we live in a fallen world that continues to decline. But I wanna give you a reason that maybe you haven't thought of today. And it's gonna sound strange, and I want you to just hang with me, okay? Here it is. Sometimes there's suffering because he's a loving God. I know that hits weird, right? That's gonna have you scratching your head as you watch this. Like, how does that make sense? But here's what I've been learning. God's goodness isn't proven by removing suffering, it's proven by entering into it. I mean, write that in your study guide, right? Romans 5, 8 says this, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You see, the cross is the ultimate proof of God's goodness. Not your comfort, not your convenience, the cross. And Jesus suffered on that cross for you and for me. He did it out of love because that is who God is. And that's awesome, right? But it's also a problem. And here's why. For love to be love, it must be a choice. You know this intuitively, okay? Like, imagine someone coming up to you and demanding, love me now or else. Like, would you love that person? Probably not. Because love isn't something that can be forced. Love cannot happen under pressure or compulsion. I like how Craig Rochelle puts it. Love is only love when it's freely chosen. And this concept of love, well, God's the one that came up with it. And if it's God's love that gives us the freedom to choose, think about that. If God forced us to obey him, if he programmed us to never doubt, to never wonder, if he programmed us to never sin, that wouldn't be love. That would be some sort of cosmic control. But God is so good and so loving that he gives us the freedom to choose him, the freedom to walk away, the freedom to wrestle. And that freedom means we live in a world

where suffering exists because people can choose selfishness and sin and brokenness. Think about it. Freedom to choose means you can choose love or hate. You can choose what's right or what's terribly wrong. You can choose what's good or what's evil. And the great paradox of faith is this, God's goodness doesn't mean he shields us from every pain. It means he walks with us through it. And so hopefully that's beginning to make sense now. He gives us the chance to love him back. That's why the cross matters so much. Romans 8, 32 says, not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? The cross was not just proof of God's goodness, but it's the proof of his love. And it's the proof that love always requires freedom. Think about it like this. I grew up in the state of Indiana. Most of you know that. And my father raised me to be an Indiana Hoosier fan. And during my childhood years, they won three national championships in basketball. We were proud IU basketball fans, but we were closet IU football fans because our team was the worst. I mean, growing up, I don't ever remember them having a winning season.

In fact, until last season, did you know this? Indiana was the all time losing his team in college football history. So we would attend football games to see the other team play, right? So we love the basketball team and we tolerated the football team. And despite the fact that they kept letting us down, we kept rooting for them and kept loving them. Now, sidebar, right? You know where I'm going with this. Last Monday night, we won the national championship in football. I hope you're cheering right now as you're looking at this. I hope you're cheering for me. My Hoosiers are national champions. And I'm not gonna lie, you can ask my wife if you know my family and my daughter. Instead of cheering at the end, I ugly cried for about five minutes because I was so happy about my Hoosiers winning a national championship. You talk about a truth, it's been hard to get my arms wrapped around. And it proves two universal truths that God still does miracles and that he is a good and loving God. But seriously, if you've ever loved something or someone deeply enough, you know that love carries risk.

The risk of defeat and rejection, the risk of disappointment, the risk of pain, but you choose to love anyway because love is worth the risk and that's what God did. He risked giving us freedom knowing that we could walk away. So when you're in the middle of suffering, when your doubts feel louder than your faith, remember, God's goodness isn't proven by fixing everything instantly. God's goodness is proven by Jesus on the cross. His love gives us freedom. Now, naturally, I think what people tend to wonder about this is I hear what you're saying, Pastor Drew, but if God allows suffering because he gives us freedom, then what do we do with the pain that we still feel? What do we do with the questions that don't get answered? What I've learned in my own life and through my own story is that God doesn't waste our pain. He redeems it. He works through it. Romans 8 says this, verse 28, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. It doesn't say all things are good. It says God works all things for the good. That means the heartbreak you've experienced, the disappointment you've carried, the unanswered prayers you've wrestled with, well, none of it is wasted.

God can take what was meant for harm and turn into something good and something hopeful. I think about the story of Joseph in the Old Testament and the book of Genesis. Joseph was a guy betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, thrown into prison, and he faced years of suffering and hardship. And despite all of it, at the end of his story, he looks at his brothers after all those years now as someone who had the power to destroy their lives. And this is what he says to them. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. That's the kind of God we serve, a God who doesn't always remove the suffering, but a God who redeems it. Okay, still, I'm sure there's people out there thinking, all right, God, all right, here's the deal, Pastor Drew. I understand all of that, but I feel like I'm a good person. Like I try to do my best to follow God and live for him, but I'm not seeing good things happen in my life. It's just one bad thing after another. And the natural question people often ask is, then why do bad things happen to good people? We know why they might happen to bad people. Why do they happen to good people? Well, honestly, I don't think you're gonna like my answer, okay?

Because the answer is they don't, because we're not good. Like I didn't think there'd be any standing ovations over that one. No amens from the crowd on this one. I'm gonna have to earn this moment, aren't I? You're thinking, man, that feels like a gut punch, Pastor Drew. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm a good person. with a good heart. I know most people believe themselves to be a good person, but scripture would sometimes indicate otherwise. Jeremiah 17 says, "'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it?' The fact is our hearts are not all that great. I know all the time my heart has led me to think, say and do sinful things." Paul in the book of Romans reminds us of this. There's not one righteous, no, not even one. He says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But here's the good news. God can take what is bad and use it for good. He can redeem what was meant to destroy you and turn it into something that builds you. And that's what he did with the cross. He took the worst injustice and turned it into the greatest act of love. And because of that, we can say with assurance, despite everything going on around us, in spite of our circumstances,

we can still proclaim that God is good and he is still working. And that changes the way we live in the tension. Because if God's goodness is proven at the cross, then even when life feels unfair, even when the pain is real, even when doubts are loud, we can lean in instead of running away. We can trust that he is with us, that he is redeeming what feels broken and that he is writing a bigger story that we can see right now. So the question becomes, how do we hold on to his goodness? How do we hold on to the goodness of God in the middle of our doubts and suffering? How do we live faithfully when life doesn't always make sense? Because the questions don't always go away. The pain doesn't always lift. The doubts don't always disappear. That's why faith isn't about pretending everything is fine. That's one of the worst things we can do around here. How are you doing? I'm fine. If you're not fine, you're not fine. Faith has to be honest, right? Faith is about learning how to live in the tension and trusting God, even when life doesn't make sense. So how do we do that? I'm gonna give you a few ways, and I don't mean, friend, to minimize this

or reduce it down to a couple points on a piece of paper or idealize this, but we do have to find ways to help with this. And so here's some homework for week three. If you haven't written anything in your study guides, that's fine. Write these things down. Number one, I think we have to reframe our expectations. I think we have to reframe our expectations. God never promised us a life without trouble. In fact, look at this verse. Jesus says, he's talking, Jesus speaking, in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. So Jesus is saying, living in the tension means shifting our expectations. God's goodness isn't proven by the absence of pain, but by his presence in the middle of it. And he's saying, I'm gonna be in the thick of it with you. Number two, practice gratitude. This is always the best idea. Practice gratitude in the middle of pain. Gratitude doesn't erase suffering, but it reframes it. When you choose to thank God for the small glimpses of his goodness, whether that be a friend's encouragement, a sunrise, a moment of laughter, an unexpected visit, whatever it might be, you are training your heart to see that God is still at work.

Gratitude is resistance training against despair. I was reading a little testimony from a woman who went on a short-term missionary trip to the island of Tobago. And she worked among a leper colony for about a month. I bet that was an amazing experience. And on the night before she left, she gathered up some of these lepers in the colony, a dozen or so, just for a time of prayer and worship. And she said, is there anyone who would like to sing a song? Is there anyone who has a request for a song? And this hand went up towards the back and she looked and she saw this woman with this very disfigured face, no nose, no ears, no lips. And her hand is raised and it's a fingerless hand. All of it had been devastated by her disease. And she calls on the lady and she says, is there a song you would wanna sing? And the lady says, could we sing that hymn, count your blessings. Friend, that's the heart that God is looking for. That's what contentment and gratitude looks like in the eyes of God. That's the end game of the growth process for you and me. Here's another thing we have to do. Lean into community. You were never meant to wrestle alone. We are better together. When doubts feel heavy, when suffering feels overwhelming, God often shows his goodness through his people.

Living in that tension means letting others carry you when you can't carry yourself. It means being honest about your questions and letting the body of Christ remind you of truth. I've seen this happen for so many people here at Compass who have found community. That's happened to me. I'm a part of a community group and we're able to walk alongside other couples or other people that are going through difficult seasons themselves and we get through them together. So I wanna encourage you to lean into community as well. You can visit our Next Steps area at any of the campuses here at Compass and sign up for a community group and lean into community in 2026. Let me give you one more. Anchor yourself in God's promises. When doubts are loud, you need something louder. That's why you cling to his word. Promises like Hebrews 13 five, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Write these down in your study guides. Psalm 34 18, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Second Corinthians 12 nine, my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness. As we live in the tension between the pain of this world and the goodness of God,

we need to remind ourselves daily that God's promises are stronger than your pain and that he wants the utmost good for his people and that he is for us and that he is with us. There are moments all over scripture that speak to this. I love the moment in the Old Testament. There's a moment in the book of Second Kings when the King of Aram, an enemy of Israel sends a great army to surround one of their cities and destroy God's anointed, his prophet, Elisha. And Elisha's servant sees that they're surrounded by troops and he cries out, master, what shall we do? And Elisha responds with a remarkable statement. He says, don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. But the problem is there was no one with us, Elisha's servant thought. Elisha's servant must have looked around perhaps trying to figure out where those who are with us were hiding because he didn't see anyone. He only saw the enemy. It was like two against thousands. But then Elisha begins to pray for his servant. Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see. And the Bible says that the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses with angels and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And it turns out that Elisha and his servant were safe all of the time,

that God protected them against the vast army. You see, Elisha understood what his servant didn't. They were surrounded by the loving protection of their heavenly father. And this servant's greatest moment of doubt and fear was really his greatest moment of safety. And I wonder today, if you really understand that, that sometimes your greatest moment of fear is really your greatest moment of safety all along. Do you realize that someone is watching over you? You may not be able to see or hear him, but you're never out of his sight. You're never out of his care. And he loves his children and he protects them. And he's preparing a place for eternity for all of us to remind us that this life, that this moment is not meant to be our ever after. And sometimes as citizens of earth, we forget that. I love what Paul says in Romans 8, verse 18. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Paul is saying this suffering is going to be worth it for me when I get to spend eternity with Jesus, never to be abandoned again. And when I'm in pain, when others around me are suffering, I like to lean on these moments in Romans 8. Would you do me a favor just for a few moments? Would you close your eyes? Close your eyes and listen to these words from Paul.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death or life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus our Lord, you can open your eyes. That's the description of a good God. Friend, in the end, I'm not sure why God has not given us all the answers and all the explanations to our sufferings and our hurt. You know, I'd like to know, but what I do know is this, He's given us Jesus. And because He knew that we would be terrified in the hurting world in which we presently live, Jesus now sits beside us. His Holy Spirit is there to comfort us. And when we walk toward Him in our time of need and not away from Him, then we feel His presence because He loves us. And because, say it with me if you want, God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good. And I like to add this, and the best is yet to come.

Can I pray over you right now? Let's pray. Father, for those who are hurting, for those who have doubts, for those who don't understand, for those who might be in a season of suffering, Lord, we pray your healing on their heart today. And I pray that we would remember that we would have gratitude, that we would reframe those expectations that we sometimes have. I pray God that we would practice that gratitude, that we would lean into community, but more than anything else, that we would stand on your promises, that you are with us, that you are for us beyond a shadow of the doubt. And we pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, God bless you. I love you guys. ♪ I worship you ♪ ♪ You are here, working in this place ♪ ♪ And I worship you, and I worship you ♪ ♪ You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are ♪ ♪ You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are ♪ ♪ You are here, touching every heart ♪ ♪ And I worship you, I worship you ♪ ♪ You are here, healing every heart ♪

♪ I worship you, I worship you ♪ ♪ Cause you are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are ♪ ♪ You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are ♪ ♪ That is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are ♪ ♪ That is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are ♪ ♪ So even when I don't see any work ♪ ♪ And even when I don't feel any work, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Never stop, you never stop working ♪ ♪ Never stop, you never stop working ♪ ♪ So even when I don't see any work, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ And even when I don't feel any work, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Never stop, you never stop working ♪ ♪ Never stop, you never stop working ♪ ♪ We make a miracle work to promise you I'm alive, darlin' ♪ ♪ My God, that is who you are ♪ ♪ Say you are, way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who you are, say that is who you are, that is who you are, that is who you are ♪