Death Is Certain

It’s been four years since the residents of New Orleans and the surrounding area were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They were warned to evacuate or face certain death. The truth is we all face certain death; but most of us will die without warning. This world and everything in it is temporary; every circumstance, every worry, every heartbreak……everyone.

I learned this first hand when our grandson was taken away in an instant without warning. We had no goodbye hugs or kisses. Nothing could have prepared us for the pain and deep sorrow that we felt as we buried our little five month old baby boy. My world had closed in on me. It felt so tiny all of a sudden. I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if I were suffocating. I had lost control of everything and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t bring Caleb back, I couldn’t make Chad and Carmen’s pain go away and I couldn’t believe that my God had allowed this to happen to my family. What was the purpose of all of this pain and suffering?

I leaned on God for strength and comfort during the days, weeks, months and now years later. It is hard to believe that it has been 2 ½ years since the Lord called our baby home and yet it seems like yesterday. I can tell you without a doubt that if it wasn’t for God I would not have made it through the funeral much less be here today to write about it. I have heard the inaudible yet unmistakable voice of God telling me that everything in its own time and season will happen for His purpose and His glory. I heard a preacher say this morning “We live on promises not explanations”. Even though we would like to have one God doesn’t owe us an explanation for the trials that we go through. We just need to remember that it is through trials and tribulation that we become the person we were meant to be in Christ.

SCRIPTURES

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 9:14-16

For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13

Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. John 16:22

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalms 63:1

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

The Heart

The word heart appears 80 times in the New Testament. There are the pure of heart, the humble of heart, the good of heart, the slow of heart, the sincere of heart, the unrepentant of heart and the unbelieving heart. Our hearts can be broken, blessed, filled, calloused, troubled, evil, good, noble, hardened, glad or tender. All of our thoughts, feelings and emotions start in the heart. The Lord says to love Him with all of our heart; we are to seek Him with all of our heart and David was a man after The Lords own heart. We are to believe with all our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:10

It is true that if you know a man’s heart you truly know him. God knows our heart, He knows our troubles, our joys and our desires. He made us so of course He knows everything about us and the amazing thing is…..He still love us! The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From His throne He observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so He understands everything they do. Psalm 33:13-15

I love my family with all my heart. My children sometimes break my heart and my husband sometimes hurts my heart and vice versa but that doesn’t change how much I love them. This can be said about our Heavenly Father as well. He loves us with all His heart and cares for each and every one of us.
We are His children and no matter how bad we mess up He still loves us! For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11-12

The bible says that through tribulation we persevere. So what do we do when our heartaches, disappointments and tribulations seem to never end? That answer is revealed to us in His word over and over again - We trust Him with all our heart! God knows what we are going through so we persevere through continual prayer knowing that He hears us and will answer our prayers and deliver us from our pain and suffering. We belong to Him; we were made for His glory and His purpose. He has great plans for us. Our suffering is the first step in appreciating Gods Holiness and His power over our lives. Who are we to question the will of God? Do we know better than the creator of the universe? Of course not. He knows all and He is in complete control so we just need to keep trusting Him to make good on His promises. He will never leave us nor forsake us! NEVER MEANS NEVER, even when you might feel like God has abandoned you……He hasn’t. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8 (my life verse)

My biggest heartaches in life have come over the past two years when I was diagnosed with a debilitating and rare auto immune disorder, our five month old grandson died from SIDS and our daughter in law and two grandchildren were in a horrible accident that left our four year old grandson paralyzed from the neck down. All of this happened within months of each other. I can say with certainty that if Gods love isn’t real I would not be here today. I felt the hand of God holding on to me while His Holy Spirit filled my heart with hope and peace.

God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God lives in our heart! When we trust God with all of our heart we trust The Holy Spirit inside us. And hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:5-6

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith developes perseverance. James 1:2-4

In Sickness And In Health

Today while reading the bible I came across a couple of versus that spoke about illness and death. It made me ponder questions about my own illness and what the Lord was trying to teach me. Sometimes the pain is so bad that I just want to stay home and hide from the world; give up. I pray that I will see the pain in my life through God’s eyes so I can see how my suffering will be used for my own good and for God’s glory. C.S. Lewis says that God whispers to us in pleasure but shouts in our pain!

Jesus healed leaper’s; he made the blind to see as well as the lame to walk. In the book of Matthew we see that people were healed of pain and sickness just because Jesus touched them. Regardless of how hopeless our circumstances may seem we should never hesitate to pray when the answer to our prayers will glorify our Lord. Sometimes illness or tragedy can bring us to our knees and we cry out to God. If this is what it takes then I would rather be sick with God then healthy without Him

As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:7-8 “For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing we will be content with these.” Paul wrote this from a rat infested hole of a prison knowing that his days on earth were numbered and most likely he would be beheaded. What an inspiration!! I have an illness but I am alive to live my life as I choose. Paul was beheaded, Stephen was stoned to death, John the Baptist was beheaded and our Lord was crucified – I have no right to complain! I will continue to trust in The Lord for He knows the plans He has made for me.

SCRIPTURES

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory. 1Corinthians 10:31

In his suffering he became humble, turned to the Lord his God, and begged him for help. 2 Chronicles 33:12

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:3-5

Spiritual Warfare

As a Christian I believe that good and evil exist in this world, God and Satan, heaven and hell. There is an unseen battle going on for the souls of the human race that we need to understand. Whether we choose to believe in the existence of this spiritual warfare or not doesn’t change the fact that it exists. We cannot be like the two year old child who believes no one can see her because her eyes are closed.

The Christian faith is based on the unseen. We have never seen God yet we have faith that He exists. We didn’t see Jesus crucified or watch as God raised Him from the dead but we believe it happened just the way the bible says it did.

There are unseen forces, good and evil, angelic and demonic, that are actively working against us in the physical realm. Satan puts road blocks in our path. He creates strife in our homes, he causes illness and death, etc. Job is a perfect example of this. He was a godly man so Satan went after his family, his wealth and his health; He wanted his soul. If this can happen to Job, who was a godly man, it most certainly can happen to you and me.

We fight the worldly battle each day – this one we can see. We also fight the spiritual battle – this one we can’t see. Protect yourself by growing strong in the word. The spiritual battle can only be won spiritually. Fill your heart, your mind and your spirit with the word of God to stave off those fiery darts from Satan. The war has already been won but the battle rages on.

SCRIPTURES

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:12

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3

He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." Daniel 10:11-14