Blog – Page 13

When I drive to Indianapolis to see my daughter and her family I take Route 31 which starts in Michigan and goes all the way down to Indy and beyond. It used to take you through some little towns with speed traps ( So I’ve heard?) and stop signs–not a fast efficient highway. It also took you through Kokomo, IN that had tons of stop lights. If you hit most of them, which happened quite often, you definitely added time to your trip. I am happy to say that the new bypass on 31 has opened which takes you around those places mentioned above. The Indianapolis area also has improved 31 making it a more pleasant drive. My GPS helps me navigate but the new roads are not on my current version. It is constantly telling me that is is rerouting me but the roads it wants to take me on don’t exist.

One day the Lord told Abraham to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, and go to the land God would show him. (Genesis 2:1-9). He and his wife, Sarah, went without knowing where they were going. Abraham took God at His word and went with faith, trusting God as the navigator.

Neal and I had an “Abraham and Sarah” type of experience. We felt God was telling us to leave our church of 18 years and step out on faith not knowing what or where God was calling us. God brought a couple other couples into our lives that had a similar vision to start a different kind of church. We started meeting together every week for bible study and prayer seeking God’s direction. Three years later, we started a new church in our area. God is still blessing that ministry. Neal and I often said that we were afraid if we hadn’t stepped out on faith, God would not have blessed our lives.

It was by faith that the people of Israel were led by Moses right through the Red Sea on dry ground. But when the Egyptians followed, they all drowned (Hebrews 11:29). The children of Israel were then led through the wilderness on a day-by-day basis. God provided a cloud by day to lead them and a pillar of fire at night. When it moved, they moved. When it stopped, they stopped and set up camp. Sometimes the cloud stayed only for one day and other times it stayed put for a while. But when it lifted, the Israelites broke camp and followed. They never knew for sure where it was taking them, but they trusted that God would bring to the Promised Land as He had said. They did complain some along the way because the way was hard and took a long time. God eventually did bring them to the Promised Land some 40 years later. (Exodus 14-17). If God had told them all the details at the start they may not have wanted to follow. No water and crummy food, 40 years of wandering in a desert, sleeping on the ground. Doesn’t sound like a fun time.

We want God to show us the whole map of our life, what is up ahead. He gives us one step at a time. Just what we need for the moment. If God showed us the whole plan, we may not like it, may not be what we had planned or think it is too difficult.

Last fall, a couple of my girlfriends and I drove down to Branson, MO for a vacation. The car I had at that time did not come with GPS. My portable GPS wasn’t very reliable so we used my phone for the directions. That proved to be just as unreliable because it got us lost once we were in Branson. We drove around and around until we finally stopped and asked for directions at a gas station like the “old days!”

God leads us one step at a time. We don’t always see the bigger picture and have no idea what’s ahead. The life of faith involves following God’s directions one step at a time. “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives,” Psalm 37:23. If you skip a direction you get lost and have to be rerouted. We put faith in our GPS that it is going to take us to our destination. We put in the address of where we are going and the GPS calculates the steps to take us to the final destination. For Christ followers our final destination is not here on earth. It is in heaven with the Lord God Almighty. He directs our steps. We try to be our own GPS but God directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

Lord, may we follow your directions and trust in Your directions.

On the journey,

Trish

In my reading of the Bible I came across a verse I had never noticed before or had skimmed right over it. How can death be precious? How can the removal of someone from this earth be considered precious? I wouldn’t have used the word “precious” to describe Neal’s death.

When we think about death we mostly view it from our point of view here on earth, a time of sorrow and loss. It leaves a deep hole, maybe anger as well as sadness. It’s a lot of work to pick up the pieces, take care of finances and so on. The verse in Psalms tells us that from the viewpoint of Heaven the death of one of God’s loved one is neither, horrible, tragic or terrible, but “precious.”

God loves us so much, even before the earth was formed or the heavens made. It was for those He loves that God sent his Son, Jesus, to leave His Heavenly Throne, take on human form, then suffer and die for His saints. We are always on His mind:

He loves us so intensely that He knows the number of hairs on our heads! He notices and cares for us in times of trouble (Ps. 46:1). When we go through the hard times He is with us (Isiaih 43:2). Jesus said that he is preparing a place for us in heaven John 14:2) so that when we die and are absent from our body we are present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). By what God has done for us, is doing for us and will do for us, shows how much He loves us and considers us precious.

Our time of being born, what we do here on earth, our time to die is all part of God’s plan. We do not die too early, too late but according to God’s time. I think our “time to die” is when our work here on earth has been accomplished. The act of removing a good man from the world is, so to speak, an act of deep deliberation on the part of God. He regards it with special interest as it is the removal of another of His redeemed children from death to life (John 5:24). Another addition to the glorious heavenly hosts above. The death of His loved ones shows the triumphal work of redemption, that Jesus conquered death on the cross.

For those who believe and accept Christ as their Savior, he gave them the right to be called his children (John 1:12). He watches over his children, even their deaths. When our time comes for us to die, our deaths are precious to Jesus. We need not fear death. I’ve shared the story before of the time before Neal died. He was unconcsious but the nurse told us that if we asked him questions, sometimes they will respond by blinking their eyes. The kids started out asking goofy questions because that would have been so Neal. I then asked him if he saw angels. Neal blinked his eyes. The kids and I looked at each other. “Neal, do you see Jesus?” I asked. He blinked his eyes. We all saw it and felt such comfort. I believe Jesus was there with Neal in his final moments here on earth. I would like to think Jesus was there smoothing Neal’s pillow, offering reassuring words, making the transition from earth to heaven comfortable. Jesus was with Neal ushering him into heaven and receiving his soul. Neal no longer was suffering in his physical body.

While we are sorrowing over the removal of a saint, Christ is rejoicing. The Lord delights in having his people with Himself. Before Jesus was betrayed and arrested he prayed, “Father, I want these whom you’ve given to me to be with me, so they can see my glory…” (John 17:24) The enterance into heaven of each one of His own people, He sees as an answer to that prayer and is glad.

So, yes, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

On the journey,

Trish

Category: Blog

GPS

Death precious??