Ms. Mary Bedgood Funeral

The Goodness of God

Psalm 27:13 - “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (NKJV)

Psalm 27:13-14 - I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (ESV)

Pray.

Oh, the goodness of the Lord… Who has known it? Who has known the goodness of the Lord and the benefits of Him?

Who has gazed, or looked upon, the goodness of the Lord and His gracious character?

Only those who have called out upon the Name of the Lord. Only those who are in need, you are lost, dry and thirsty… Only those who have seen the depravity of their own soul and have experienced the great despair of separation from love and forgiveness...

And then… God came to them… where they were… and revealed His goodness to them...

The sinner’s testimony is very similar to all others:

“I was dead in my sins and trespasses. I was in the dark. I was lost, alone, and forgotten. I was ashamed and condemned...

But God… But God… Who is rich and mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us… But God loved me and sent His only begotten Son to die for me...

Oh, the goodness of God… Do you know it?

I would have lost heart… If I did not know it.

I would lose heart today… If I could not see it or remember it.

Ms. Mary Bedgood knew it. Ms. Mary tasted and seen that the Lord was good long ago… And she could still taste and see the goodness that the Lord has placed inside of her...

She would testify to the goodness of God in her life. She would point to her Savior, and incline her heart to praise and to worship for all the goodness she had received...

Oh, she was thankful and grateful for the goodness of God.

She knew that every perfect gift was from above and she would give praise to God for all that she had...

For every family member… you know… Darrell and all the rest...

She wanted every family member there with her. She loved her family. She loved you with the love of Christ.

And I saw… I have seen, and I see the love that you have had for her… And family, please don’t take what you have for granted… ever.

This is a close family, a dear family.

Stay close and draw near to one another always, especially in these days of great grief and pain...

In our days of grief, in our days of pain and trouble… we all could lose heart and fall away into isolation and despair.

We all could lose sight of all the blessings and gifts from God.

We all could be tempted to lose heart.

We all need to see the goodness or God, and sometimes, we as family members and as church family members… we must come alongside one another and help one another to remember the goodness of God.

And quote:

Nahum 1:7 - The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.

Our great temptation is to focus on the pain and on the struggle… and we forget to focus on the solution and our Great Savior.

We see Peter walking on the water until his eyes are swept away with the winds and the waves… and so it is with us, as life distracts us from our Creator and Sustainer.

Today, for the family, we all grieve and are grieving. And this is right and good… but it not as though we grieve without hope… We do not grieve as though our eyes are on the grave and the grave alone...

For many today… that is all they can see...

For many today, or all of us today, we must be reminded to the quickness of life and the reality of physical death...

For many today… we need to answer the question: What is going to happen when we breath our last breath. What then?

For some, or many today… Today, you must examine your life to see if you are in the faith and to repent from you way that leads to destruction, while you see have breath left...

And for all of us, we are reminded to redeem the time, to follow Christ, walk in repentance and faith, and love like there is no tomorrow...

Christian... we do not grieve without hope. We do not focus on the grief and set our face to the grave as the final authority…

We grieve and we hurt with our eyes and our faces set and focused on the Lord, and the Goodness of the Lord…

We grieve facing our Living Hope… and we walk forward.

Today we do not lose heart… because our eyes go above and beyond the raging winds and seas, and above and beyond death… to the Grave Robber Who died for us and rose from the dead...

Oh, if you want to experience life in the here and now… we must not live in death… Oh, if we want to experience life today, we must not be filled with darkness...

Oh, today… if you want to experience life… we must not look to a tomb that is filled with dry man’s bones...

We must look to an empty tomb and to a Risen Savior.

We must look to the Light of the World and the Resurrection and the Life.

And there… You will find Life and Life Everlasting!

If you do not want to lose heart today… you do not have to, if you will only look to the goodness of the Lord, to the Goodness of God… To the Life that has been given...

And you will dwell in the land of the living… today.

(Story) You should have seen her. She has been calling out to the Lord to take her. She has been calling all her family members together, telling them she loved them and giving goodbyes… Ms. Betty is telling her that everything is ok.

She is passing away, and transitioning in her bed, and unable to do much at all… But she was able to “wait upon the Lord...” She was able to pray… And she was able to sing...

In those moments of pain, and with her physical limitations apparent… We began to sing… She began to sing....

And when we got to singing the “Goodness of God,” her hands are up in the air and she is singing with all her heart...

And when her arm began to weaken… she took her other arm and braced the weakened arm… so that she could continue to raise her hands to the Lord in worship...

Where was her eyes? Where was her face? Where was her heart?

She was focused on the Goodness of God… until the end...

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”

The Lord was her Shepherd… The Lord was her portion, her Rock, and Refuge… The Lord was her Good Savior… and she rested in Him...

And today she rests forever more… with Him.

In this life, she had life… Because she knew the Goodness of God.

In this life… She could see life beyond the grave… and she longed for it, until she obtained it...

She looked upon the Goodness of God… until these final days… and now… She is filled with the goodness of God forever...

And Psalm 23 is now complete in her life...

Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 27:13 - “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! (NKJV)

Don’t lose heart… See and experience the goodness of God today.

Pray. Close.