Today marks one year since my dear mentor Mike Beaudin went to be with the Lord. The last year and the continued decline of my parents with their memory loss have been one of the most challenging years of my life. Amid the struggles of profound loss, pain, and lament, this past year has also been a season of profound growth and change in my life. On difficult days, there has been the reminder that this world is not only not my home. I have a greater home that the Lord promises to all who repent and trust Him (John 14:3).

Home sounds so good. You come home from work. Perhaps you immediately have kids at your feet wanting hugs and attention when you come home. Or maybe you come home to your spouse meeting you at the door. But the home I’m talking about here is more significant than any of those I’ve just mentioned. Our real home is not here on earth but seated with Christ in God (Ephesians 2:4-9). His promise in John 14:3 is given in the context of the Upper Room discourse, teaching that the Lord gave to His disciples to prepare them for His impending death, burial, and resurrection. It is a teaching that we desperately need today in the times in which we live.

Christian, You Live Between the Times

The times of Christ began at the death of Christ when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Truly, that is good news. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Christian, you are secure forever and held fast by your Savior-King. Right now, you and I live between the times in the here and now, which means you and I have work to do. We are to make disciples who make disciples of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to grow in the likeness of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We are to be spent in service to the Lord and for His glory.

Our days may appear to be growing darker. Still, the hope of the gospel shines forth as bright as the sun rising in the morning and as beautiful as the sunset at night. The glory of God knows no bounds and is personified in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. At the end of his life, while he worked hard between the times for God’s glory, Paul looked forward in 2 Timothy 4:8 to the day when his hope would be fully realized, and he would worship the Lord physically in His presence. It is on that Day that the times we live in will end, and the already and not yet of the Kingdom will be fully concluded. Then, we will fully worship and be like the Lord in heaven.

God’s Goodness is A Treasure

Over the past months, I’ve dreaded this day that would mark one year of Mike dying. Yet, today is a day I knew would come as sure as the sun rises in the morning and the sun sets in the evening. Day after day comes whether we want it to, and night after night, we fall asleep in the arms of our sovereign God. Whether we awake or not to a new day or in heaven, if we are in Christ, the joy of the Lord is as good now as it will be forever in heaven. God is so good to us, His children.

As I’ve reflected on the last year, the idea of God’s goodness has become much more precious to me. I wake up and walk down to my office to start my day. For many of you, that isn’t your reality. You wake up to drive to work and then get to work only to come home much later in the day after the day’s events. I walk down the stairs from my wife and my master bedroom to work at my desk in my office, which is right off the kitchen in my house. Some days are full of meetings. Others are full of writing, and still, others are full of interviews or a combination of writing and recordings. While I may be writing and recording faithful Christian content to help God’s people grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, my job isn’t any different from yours.

The Lord has placed you where He has you. He put you in the place you work to be an instrument of His Word and to make disciples for His glory. Don’t you know the Lord has placed you where He has you at this time in your life to use you? Whether you are a lawyer, maid, hotel worker, teacher, homeschool mom, teacher, or whatever you do, He desires to use you where He has placed you. The last few years should have drilled into our hearts and minds that every opportunity to be useful to anyone with the grace of God is so precious. And it also reflects God’s goodness to us that He places us where He needs us. He needs us not, but He still uses us for His glory, so He desires and should get the praise for however He uses us.

The past year has been one of deep lament and loss. As I’ve reflected over the past year, the Lord has thawed my heart. Mike was more than a big brother to me. He helped me through a period of my life when my father first got diagnosed with dementia, then my mom’s Alzheimer’s disease, and much more. We served faithfully together in various ways at our church when my wife and I lived in Southern Idaho. Mike and I walked a mile together and more, had many memories, and helped each other a great deal.

Now just because he’s with the Lord doesn’t mean I don’t miss him. I will always miss him. The goodness of God reminds me that the season of Mike being in my life is over. The Lord appoints the seasons of our lives. As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a season for everything in our lives. The providence of God reminds us of this truth. God is orchestrating the events of our lives for our good to help us conform to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28-30). God is so good to us.

Thankfulness and the Goodness of God

I think sometimes I know for myself I forget God’s goodness. I get busy working and forget to be thankful (thankfulness is a command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18). If we practiced thankfulness more, we would complain less, and our hearts would be full of God’s goodness. I know this is true for me. The last year has provided a living illustration of how much I still have to grasp God’s goodness and the unchanging nature of our God. And yet, even here, the Lord has used this time in my life to remember the goodness of God. The memory of Mike won’t go away, and the memories of all you’ve lost in your life won’t go away. And yet what will remain is God’s faithfulness and goodness. 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Titus 1:2 tells us that we have a God who never lies.

Hebrews 13:8 tell us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What that means is that we can trust God. No matter what season of life you are in, whether that is a season of loss, grief, pain, trial, or growth—the Lord is still the same in every season of our lives. See, dear Christian, you can trust the unchanging nature of our God. He is good. He is worthy of your praise. The Lord is orchestrating the events and situations in your life for your good so that you might know more of His goodness in the midst of them for your growth in Christ (Romans 8:28-30; James 1:2-3).

May you and I never forget and never fail to remember the goodness of God. God is good on our best days and our worst days. He is worthy of our praise because He is holy, good, just, and loving, and behind all of these characteristics and attributes is our Savior-King Jesus.

Jesus is worthy of our trust, adoration, and worship. He is our sinless substitute, our risen and ascended Lord and our soon-returning King. He is worthy of all. May our response to all of this be to worship Him in spirit and truth and to praise Him throughout our lives. And may we, in turn, take His glory to the nations, including our own home, our family, friends, and wherever He has placed us, that the name of Christ may be praised by our coworkers, family, and all we reach, for His glory. May the response of our hearts be one full of gratitude, and then may we give thanks for the goodness of God in the person and work of Jesus towards us. God is good, and His mercy endures forever.

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