February 4, 1966 – April 27, 2025

Many of our readers will be familiar with Joshua Goodling. He was the author of the devotionals featured in our magazines. Joshua passed away on April 27.

Of all the people I have known in my life, he is at or near the top of the list of those I respect most. This was someone who truly lived for Christ. Joshua had a profound impact on many people — including one individual who came across his website just before planning to end their life. His story changed their mind. Joshua’s legacy will continue through the countless people he inspired and through his enduring writings.

At the age of four, Joshua was diagnosed with cancer and doctors told his parents he had just one week to live. But he was miraculously healed — and as he often said, “it’s been a long week.” In fact, he lived to the age of 59. The cancer, however, left lasting effects on his body, stunting his growth and affecting his vocal cords, making speech difficult.

On his website, Joshua shared:
“Humanly speaking, my life was destroyed by this cancerous monster that had disrupted it. I had every right in some people’s eyes to be mad at God for bringing this into my life. However, I soon learned that God wasn’t destroying my life by giving me cancer, He was creating my life. I can honestly say, it was worth it to have cancer, in order to touch so many lives.”

There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” That verse describes Joshua perfectly. God used his greatest weakness to open powerful doors — even giving him the opportunity to speak in public schools.

Joshua once reflected:
“When I first started speaking, people told me; ‘Joshua, you can’t do this….you have all these problems, you have physical disabilities, etc.’ And they were right. I can’t do it in my own strength. However, the Bible tells us, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13).”

“Today, when I stand in front of an audience speaking about overcoming life’s difficulties, finding true happiness, developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or whatever the topic for that event may be, I look out and see tears coming down the faces of many who are listening. I hear people come up to me afterwards and say things like; ‘Joshua, your story just changed my life!’ And then I realize God knew all along what He was doing when He gave me cancer. I now have a story to tell of how amazing and awesome God is, and that no matter how ‘dark’ our trials may be in this life — they are all part of His perfect plan, and He knows exactly what He is doing!”

You can see videos of Joshua speaking on his YouTube channel, and many of his writings are available at joshuagoodling.com.

Joshua’s voice may be silent now, but his message continues to speak — louder than ever.

Though he wrote thousands of devotionals and many booklets, he chose this to feature on his website, so it must have held special importance to him.

WHAT IF?
An Article By Joshua Goodling
The story is told of a mail carrier who lived in a village in Europe that had many rivers and waterways running through it. The mail carrier would use a canoe on his daily route to deliver the mail. Many people over the years asked him why he didn’t wear a life preserver or at least learn to swim. To which he would always reply that he didn’t need a life preserver, and he didn’t need to know how to swim. Nothing had happened to him yet, and nothing was going to happen.

One day as he set out on his route, a sudden storm came and it began to rain, and the wind began to blow hard. He wasn’t afraid though, he had been through worse he thought. Well, he hadn’t ever experienced a storm like this one, one of the worst storms in the history of the village. During the storm his canoe was capsized, and unable to swim, he drowned. People had warned him for years, but not wanting to be weighed down with a life preserver or be bothered with swimming lessons – he had just ignored their warnings. 

Many people in life are like that mail carrier. They have been warned and told time and again about what will happen to people who reject the love of God, but they think it’s not true. The stuff the Bible says about hell and the price one will pay for not believing in Jesus Christ can’t possibly be correct. In fact, some people have even gone as far as to say there is no God. 

But just stop and consider something for a moment. Are you one of those people who have so far rejected Jesus Christ’s offer of eternal life? What if the warnings in the Bible ARE true? What if people who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior WILL die and go to hell? What if there is a penalty one MUST pay for the wrongs they have done in life? What if you’re WRONG about there being no God? What if you’re WRONG about believing in Jesus Christ not being necessary? Are you prepared to gamble all of eternity on that? 

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic. People said it was indestructible, it would never sink, and now it is at the bottom of the ocean in pieces. 

When man first invented the automobile, some people said if man ever went faster than 30 mph, it would kill him. However, now people fly jets at hundreds of miles per hour without even batting an eye. 

When Bill Gates first mentioned the idea of a personal computer, he was told that people would never need a computer in their home. Today some people have multiple computers and our lives are complete wrapped up in them it seems. It’s hard to even function without one. 

In all of these above instances, people thought they knew everything. They thought they knew all the answers – yet they were wrong. Yet, none of these compare to the terrible tragedy many will face in being wrong about Jesus Christ. 

Just think what a terrible tragedy it would be for someone to die thinking there is no God, or one doesn’t need to believe in Jesus Christ, only to wake up in Hell and find they were wrong. So, before you just brush off the possibility of there being no God, or no need for salvation – consider whether you’re willing to take the “risk”! 

And believe me, I know from experience that there IS a God. And that salvation through faith in Jesus Christ can make your life the best it could ever possibly be. God doesn’t want to destroy your life – He will make your life 1000% better! 

I realize not everyone will agree with me on this. And that’s perfectly fine. I’m not trying to force anyone to become a follower of Jesus Christ. I’m just telling you I BELIEVE in Him, and He’s made a HUGE difference in my life.