But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13:5-6
These words are so beautiful...
I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13:5-6
These words are so beautiful...
Trusting in the Lord, rejoicing in His salvation, singing songs of praise to God for all the goodness He has shown to all of His children... and yet many times we enter into situations and painful trials in which we question everything this Christian life is supposed to be about.
I love passages like the one I just quoted from in Psalm 13. The Bible is filled with such glorious words. Yet earlier today, I had to answer the letter I received from a dear friend of mine whose twenty-six-year-old son died unexpectedly.
My Christian friend is a youth minister on the West Coast. He and his wife have been serving the Lord faithfully for many years. He often passes out copies of my testimony and many other tracts to people on the streets of the city he lives in. His letters to me are always full of encouragement.
Yet his last letter was filled with pain. His heart was broken as he gave me the news that his dear son was dead. His son was a budding evangelist and youth minister. He was a fiery preacher with a burden for souls, just like his dad. Now, he is in the grave, and his dad was asking me why.
But my friend did not sound bitter, just very troubled. He asked for my prayers, and said, "David, my wife and I are feeling so much pain..." He asked me to pray for their strength. Then he ended his letter with Romans 8:28.
I asked the Lord for wisdom when replying. But when he had put Romans 8:28 at the end of his letter, I realized that he was already beginning to understand that God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). His divine understanding is infinite.
I told my dear brother that God is love. That His plans for our lives do not stop when someone we love dies. The Bible says that "nothing," not even "death," shall be able to "separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
My friend and his wife have had their struggles in the past. I've had mine; I'm sure I will have many more in the future. Yet God is still in control and my dear brother’s son is definitely in Heaven. He has no more temptations to endure. Even the fruit of his labors will live on.
I reminded my friend that we Christians are not exempt from suffering. We Christians do not live on a cloud. We live on this earth and in fleshly bodies that are frail. We have not gotten our new bodies yet, for the resurrection of the "just" (righteous) has yet to take place.
I gave my brother my love as I sent him a card to encourage him, and then I sent a letter in a separate envelope. He needed to know that the Holy Spirit is an expert Comforter.
I ended my letter by asking him to read this passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Lord willing, he'll be receiving these next week. I assured him that I will keep him in my prayers. I would hope, too, that other Christians who will be reading this journal will remember to keep this family in prayer.
We believers in Jesus do not have to grieve as others who have no hope. Yes, we can grieve, for we are but human. But as the ones who have the promise of our dear Savior's return, we do not have to mourn forever. One glorious day, my dear brother and his wife will be reunited with their son in Heaven.
D.B.
I love passages like the one I just quoted from in Psalm 13. The Bible is filled with such glorious words. Yet earlier today, I had to answer the letter I received from a dear friend of mine whose twenty-six-year-old son died unexpectedly.
My Christian friend is a youth minister on the West Coast. He and his wife have been serving the Lord faithfully for many years. He often passes out copies of my testimony and many other tracts to people on the streets of the city he lives in. His letters to me are always full of encouragement.
Yet his last letter was filled with pain. His heart was broken as he gave me the news that his dear son was dead. His son was a budding evangelist and youth minister. He was a fiery preacher with a burden for souls, just like his dad. Now, he is in the grave, and his dad was asking me why.
But my friend did not sound bitter, just very troubled. He asked for my prayers, and said, "David, my wife and I are feeling so much pain..." He asked me to pray for their strength. Then he ended his letter with Romans 8:28.
I asked the Lord for wisdom when replying. But when he had put Romans 8:28 at the end of his letter, I realized that he was already beginning to understand that God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). His divine understanding is infinite.
I told my dear brother that God is love. That His plans for our lives do not stop when someone we love dies. The Bible says that "nothing," not even "death," shall be able to "separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
My friend and his wife have had their struggles in the past. I've had mine; I'm sure I will have many more in the future. Yet God is still in control and my dear brother’s son is definitely in Heaven. He has no more temptations to endure. Even the fruit of his labors will live on.
I reminded my friend that we Christians are not exempt from suffering. We Christians do not live on a cloud. We live on this earth and in fleshly bodies that are frail. We have not gotten our new bodies yet, for the resurrection of the "just" (righteous) has yet to take place.
I gave my brother my love as I sent him a card to encourage him, and then I sent a letter in a separate envelope. He needed to know that the Holy Spirit is an expert Comforter.
I ended my letter by asking him to read this passage: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Lord willing, he'll be receiving these next week. I assured him that I will keep him in my prayers. I would hope, too, that other Christians who will be reading this journal will remember to keep this family in prayer.
We believers in Jesus do not have to grieve as others who have no hope. Yes, we can grieve, for we are but human. But as the ones who have the promise of our dear Savior's return, we do not have to mourn forever. One glorious day, my dear brother and his wife will be reunited with their son in Heaven.
D.B.