Believing that God is Bigger Than Anything Requires Faith

The purpose of this week’s column is to remind you that God is good and He is always in control. Actually, it’s more to remind me of that truth than it is you. But since it has become somewhat of a responsibility of mine to make sense of things that don’t always make sense, I feel the need to share my inner struggles with you this week.

I had another column on another subject all typed out and ready to go just before deadline time. But when it came time to press the send button on my computer, I just couldn’t do it. My heart and the hearts of a number of fine folks in my community are heavy at the time.

This past week, the Gardner-Webb family lost a valuable member. Dan Goodman made people smile. He inspired them. He encouraged them. And when his students gave less than their best, he challenged them.

Because our sons are friends and played on several teams together, I was able to sit with or near Dan on occasion at sporting events. We needled the refs occasionally but always in a good-natured way that produced smiles in return instead of resentment. Dan had a sense of humor that produced a lion’s share of laughter during his short lifetime.

Beloved by his students, respected by his colleagues, and adored by his family, this man of God most certainly is in the presence of Almighty God as you read this. I kept reminding myself of that fact at the chapel service on the day of his passing. My heart breaks for his family but good ole’ Dan is living it up with his Savior at the moment.

But those of us here are left with more questions than answers. The essence of the Christian faith is the acceptance that God is in control, even when happenings here on Earth make absolutely no sense to us. How can a 40-year-old man who I saw almost every day playing tennis with his sons be taken away in an instant? Like many other questions that have perplexed me in my lifetime, I am left with no satisfying answers. I simply cling to a faith that trusts my Creator to have a greater plan and a clearer picture than the blurry one I am forced to peer into.

What words can I offer my son when two of his friends have lost their fathers within the last few weeks? How do I answer the question “Why?” I don’t have answers- I can only share with him that faith is believing that God is bigger than anything.

It makes me ache for those who don’t have faith in God. I have no idea how folks without faith cope. I’m not judgmental of them and I certainly don’t look down upon them. I just wonder how in the world a person handles tragedy, heartbreak, or the storms of life without the assurance of the Father’s love in their life?

I am simply too afraid to live without faith. If so, I would be basing my hope in life on some vague definition of fate, chance, odds, or luck.

I’ll admit I’ve been a little confused this week. But I know this much. God is still in control. And for that I am thankful.