I unexpectedly lost a good friend, a son in the faith, this week. I have asked myself, “Where was God Thursday morning when Tim passed from this life to the next?” When scripture says, “all things” work for good (Ro 8.28) and that God upholds “all things” by the word of His power (Heb 1.3)....times like this put my theology to the test. However these two words, “all things”, have been God’s healing ointment to the open and empty wound in my heart. If you have ever lost something dear to you be encouraged by God’s “All Things”…
All things come into being through Him (Jn 1.3). Jesus, the Son of God, will reconcile all things (Col. 1.20) to Himself. All things are possible with God (Matt. 19.26). In the end, the very end, God promises to make all things new (Rev. 21.5)…including, one day, lifeless bodies. God brings all things together for those who love God (Ro. 8.28)…even the hardest things.
Life’s tragic and unexplainable events may not themselves be good but God uses even the horrific chapters of our lives for a much greater outcome. People of faith know God did not spare His own Son, but delivered AND resurrected Him for us all. Would God not also freely deliver and resurrect us so that we may inherit all things? (Ro. 8.32). It is in this most difficult time (yes, I am talking to myself right now) I continue to remind myself to give thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus (Eph. 5.20) because scripture promises me, I can do all things (beginning with enduring silent and painful nights) through Him who gives me strength (Phil. 4.13). I do not know what I will say to a young widow and three teenage children at a gravesite on Thursday afternoon, except that this tragedy is included in the “all things” of Romans 8.28. God works all things, even horrible things, for the good of His people. Beyond that, there aren’t words.
My final thought (and to all of Tim’s friends), I know the Apostle Paul gives specific instruction for the care of widows. If I say I truly loved Tim, I will continue to love him by never forgetting his family. I know the sacrificial death of God’s own Son proves that God has the ‘whole world in His hands’ and therefore, Tim’s family is in His hands too. I close, with what may be a self indulgent posting with words penned by the psalmist, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps. 116.15)
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