It is always tough for me to think about the grief people endure when they lose a loved one. Life is precious and a gift from God. Each new day He gives is a blessing. When a life is taken too soon it brings sadness to my soul. I used to not be able to know why these things happened. I would not even have an answer other than God must have had a reason. None of the reasons I would think of were enough for me. I would see God as inconsistent. In the Old Testament God was this way and then in the New Testament He was this way. So if I believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, then is it God who changed? No, never. If I believe His Word, which is perfect, then He didn't change. I believe that the way He relates to us is different under the New Covenant because Jesus came to Earth. When there was no perfect sacrifice made for sin, God dealt with man according to the law. The law was what we looked to for our right standing with God. I am so thankful that now we don't have to make sacrifices for sins and that Jesus made us right with God forever. He forgave our sins past, present, and future. Again, if I want to know God's true nature, I have to look at Jesus. He was the exact representation of God. Did He ever let a person suffer with sickness or disease when they came to Him to be healed? In the Gospels I see Him saying He's willing every time to heal anyone who would come to Him for healing. I see Him saying that it's a person's faith that has made them whole. How are we made whole? Forgiven and healed. Receiving His abundant life that deals with every broken part of us; spiritually, emotionally and physically. 

God is always wanting us to receive from Him. He is a perfect gentleman though and He won't force us to believe or receive. He's paid a price and is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Does that mean all will receive Him? Unfortunately not. 

When a person came to Jesus to be healed, He seemed to have them reach out in faith to receive it. Hebrews 11:1 says "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" (NLT). That's now faith; for right now! The Bible also says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) In order to receive salvation a person must receive it by faith. They believe in what is not seen. God won't make a person believe that He bore their sins and He won't make a person receive His free gift of salvation. He says that if YOU confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Salvation. I didn't know what this definition included until several years ago. I thought it just meant I was saved from my sins. Salvation is defined in the New Testament Greek as this: (sozo)- to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, to save one (from injury or peril), to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health, to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue, and to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment. That's a loaded definition right there. If you have received salvation then you have a lot to celebrate right here! 

The message I want to get across to whoever is reading in closing is this: how good God is. He's not a puppet master and we aren't puppets. He has given us His Word and His promises to stand on for any challenge we may face iin this life. I don't know what it's like to lose a child but I do know that it isn't God who is taking the lives of babies and people prematurely. We can know His will if we search the Scriptures. He tells us to pray His will in Matthew 6:10 when He says "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth, AS it is in Heaven". Did you catch that? I never did, even though I grew up reciting the Lord's prayer. Think about Heaven. Is anyone sick in Heaven? Is anyone mentally ill in Heaven? Is there death in Heaven? That's not His will and obviously we all will die but it's never been His will since the beginning of Creation. The garden of Eden was perfect and since we live in a fallen world, there is death, sickness, mental illness and sadness galore. It's not His will though. I will close with one verse to show you what God says about life. Psalm 91:16 says "With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation" (NIV). He tells us His will right here. Anyone taken at a young age is not God's doing. His will is long life and salvation. I can say with confidence that God IS good. I'm not trying to believe that He is. I know He is. 

If you've been struggling with these kinds of thoughts, please take a moment and ask God to reveal to you His will. Ask God to bring you to Scripture verses that tell you of His goodwill and nature. As a New Testament believer, we serve a God Who's wrath has been satisfied because of Jesus (Romans 3:25). It was the amazing sacrifice of Jesus that bought our salvation.