GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME
Matthew 14:22-32
God is good all the time, All the time God is good.
We tend to say that and perhaps only believe it when life is going great.
You ask her to marry and she says yes. “GIG” (God is good)
You get an unexpected raise. “GIG”
Meryl beats Darcy in a horse race, “GIG”
You and your family are sitting around a campfire. The temp. is 68. The sound of whippoorwills can be heard from the trees. Where your horses are tied out they become a silhouette against the setting sun in the western sky. And you think this is as close to heaven as I’ll get on this side of eternity. “GIG”
Heres the deal. Pleasant episodes don’t happen all the time for anybody. Mixed in with all the pleasant episodes are the unpleasant ones. And if it is true that GIGATT (God is good all the time) then it has to be true that God is good in unpleasant as well as the pleasant.
Yet how hard it is to say and sometimes believe that God is good when it seems you have been dealt a bad hand.
How often do we say GIG when bad stuff happens.
Imagine chasing your horses that got out on the highway and saying, “GIG”
Pulling a calf in subzero weather at 3 a.m. “GIG”
Paying bills, truck payment 500 check balance 400 “GIG”
Or more serious stuff
Spouse walks out after years of marriage “GIG”
Doctor report is bad “GIG”
GIGATT is usually not what we are thinking. Its often thoughts of doubt and fear which is very dangerous because doubt and fear can make a bad situation worse because doubt and fear lead to panic and panic leads to irrational decisions.
The purpose of this message it to protect us from the consequences of doubts and fears.
We are going to read a story about a group of men that experienced a pleasant and unpleasant episode all in the same day. And how Jesus saved them from the consequence of doubt and fear.
Jesus fed 5000 plus. Imagine all the GIG going on! This was an ultra pleasant situation!
Boy that had given 5 loaves of bread and two fish and saw it multiplied must have thought “GIG”
Disciples passing out food “GIG”
People receiving the food and eating “GIG”
Discple picked up 12 basket of leftover food. This was the Golden Corral buffet on steroids! “GIG”
We usually don’t want to leave a situation like that. Want to bask in it. “God don’t let this end.
Some of us may be thinking that right now. Here we are in a warm barn, warm loving fellowship, free coffee, praising the Lord. A pleasant situation. But tomorrow Monday, the stress of the job…etc We don’t want the weekend to end…”God don’t let Monday happen.”
…Yet the disciples had to leave.
Matt 14:23
Jesus made them leave. Greek word for made is force. Jesus had to force the disciples to get in the boat and leave.
Parents know about this. Make kids leave something pleasant and fun.
Mom: “Kid’s its time to get out of the swimming pool and get in the truck.”
Kids: Wait let me jump one more time!
Mom: “Kids I said get in the truck!
Kids: Wait mom watch this. (they do a cannonball off the diving board)
Mom: Kid’s if I have to tell you one more time! Don’t make me come in there and get you!
Kids: Yeah mom that would be awesome…jump in and get us!
Sometimes parents have to force kids to leave something pleasant.
I wonder what Jesus had to do to make these boys get in the boat.
Disciples: “Wait a minute Jesus there is so much food left over. Lets hang around till breakfast!”
Jesus: No boys I said get in the boat.
Disciples: Jesus do something else really cool…another miracle
Jesus: Boys I don’t want to have to tell you again. Don’t make me send 10000 angels down to get you in the boat!
They didn’t want to leave and who could blame them this was such a pleasant experience.
What they didn’t know was that Jesus was sending them into an unpleasant situation.
Read v.23-24 The word for buffeted means tormented. Up to this point the soundtrack in their mind was playing. God is so good, God is so good, God is so good He’s so good to me. THE storm hit and in an instant the soundtrack changed to the theme music for Jaws.
That’s what life is like isn’t it?
It can change in an instant.
Sometimes those unpleasant situations can be a mere inconvenience but sometimes they can be torment.
When your hopes are dashed and the future looks uncertain it can be torment. Those times will come for you and I.
Will you be prepared? The time to strengthen our faith is not wait until the storm to scramble trying to find answers.
I want to share one answer on how to deal with fear.
V25-26 They thought Jesus was a ghost. In those days many believed the sea was where demons dwelt especially at night. To them the boogy man was bigger than God
When we go through a time of torment fear causes us to think irrationally
We think God is not in control
My prayers are not being heard
God has abandoned me.
These irrational thoughts lead to irrational actions so we quit praying quit worshiping quit trusting. We take matters in our own hands.
Look what Jesus said. Here is the answer to our fears. Read v. 27
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid."
Another time Jesus said I will never leave you or forsake you.
The psalmist wrote in Ps 139:7-12
Psalm 139:7-12 (New International Version)
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Whatever circumstance you are in God may of brought you here today to hear these words from the mouth of Jesus. Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.
Jesus may not take away the unpleasant thing in your life immediately or even at all on this side of heaven but he is there to lead you through.
It’s not our job to know the hows, whens or why’s. Our job is to trust in a Savior that has promised. He is here. And in that we find courage.
Notice when Peter stepped out of the boat on faith…the storm did not stop. But what did happen was that Jesus allowed Peter to stay above the waves..to persist…endure
God may take away the storm in our life or he may allow the storm to persist
Whatever the case remember these words of Christ. “Take courage it is I. Don’t be afraid
God is good all the time, all the time God is good.
