[Dr. Gilliam]

Psalms 107:1 NIV Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Good is a relative term. It is used 500 times in the New Internation Translation of the bible. That is a good bit. it is used a lot of different ways. This is one of them. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Think about this for just a minute... Have you ever had a time in your life, be honest with yourself and with God, when you were not sure if God was really all that good? Or at least did you wonder if God was all good all the time? I am serious now! Don't get all spiritual and phoney on me... I am talking about the way you really are when only you and God can see... Do you ever wonder if God is sometimes slacking in this good area? It is a reasonable question. Maybe I am the only one who has had such thoughts... a couple of trips to Vietnam will do that to you I guess. Seeing your friends die young and drunks die old... You just wonder about the justice of it all. I did, and I refuse to lie about it and pretend I never had such a thought. I looked for answers and didn't get any! I just know God loves me even when I asked such questions! I know that I love Him... even when I ask such questions! I don't have all the answers now, and I surely did not at 22 or 24. But I trust and love God more than ever. I know his love endures forver.

One day I am going to know the answers to the questions that I don't know the answers to right now. I don't think I will even have to ask... I will just know. Paul said "now we see through a dark glass; but later we will see him as he is!" I will know and it will be so clear I won't be able to see how I could not have see it before! Right now, I just love and trust Him... I don't understand all the things that hurt so much. I wish I could change some things, but I can't. I just keep praying in faith and loving God. That is all I have.