i'm learning a lot right now, and by that i mean, i'm learning that i don't really know a whole lot. i'm learning that God is gracious and merciful, even if i can't completely comprehend His reasoning and the depth of His love for His children. a dear friend of mine, who has been like a second mom to me growing up, is in her final days on earth and will soon be passing on to eternal life with our Lord. i have no doubt in my mind that she will be greeted with well done my good and faithful servant. she is a remarkable woman who has always encouraged and pushed the people in her life to be better, to be exceptional, to be able to stand strong, and to always walk tall in the grace and wonders of God. she is a beautiful woman of God, one who has given me countless lessons in life, taught me many things, and been there in times of need. what a fierce love she has for God and all the things He has brought her through. she has had a full life, with ups and downs. she will be sorely missed by those who love her, but we can all definitely find peace that she will be dwelling in the house of the Lord where she will have no more pain, no more ups and downs, where she will be with God, our Heavenly Father.
lately, with all this being around me, with the reality of the finality of death (at least on earth) all around me, its hard for me to comprehend heaven. some times its hard for me to hold it in my mind and really find comfort in life everlasting in heaven. i know in my heart of hearts that its real. i believe that God is sovereign, that He is merciful, and that He welcomes His children to heaven with open arms. i believe and trust that He has prepared a place for mom hipsky and that when He calls her home, it will be in His perfect timing. so how come i'm struggling to find the peace that resides in God's promises? perhaps my flesh is keeping me at bay, perhaps i'm letting the idea of death consume me, when i should be welcoming it, as its an end to this crappy world we currently live in. perhaps i'm allowing my emotions and flesh to dictate how i react. i don't know.
i have been keeping track of a sister in Christ's facebook status' about how she is responding to life now that her husband has passed and she is left to raise her 2 young sons by herself. she has such a strong faith and i feel like my faith is so weak right now. i believe and truly LOVE God. i trust in His sovereignty. i trust that HE is faithful when we are faithless. i know that He is good. but when i think about people i love dying... its not as easy anymore to think of them leaving and going to a better place, going to heaven. i even know that one day, He will call on me and i will call heaven my home. but when i was younger, it was easier for me to face death. why is it so difficult to face now?
i feel this way, yet i read a devotional today by r.c. sproul that gave me such great comfort. perhaps my aching heart and soul needs to just keep reading and praying. go figure, that which God asks us to do (read His word and pray) is the answer to all my questions. i still may not ever understand why it affects me so much more these days (death i mean), but if i do as God calls and read His word, pray, and find comfort in His church, than i know i will be okay. i want my response to death to be appropriate. i want to grasp it, accept it, understand it. i want to look at situations with an eternal mindset, with a Heavenly mindset. Lord, help me to hold fast to your word and promises.
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Here are parts of the devotional I read and hope to reflect on today, on anticipating heaven... "eternal life for the individual is not an empty human aspiration built on myth, but an assurance promised us by Christ Himself. His own triumph over the grave is the church's hope for our participation in His life...
the promise of heaven is indeed glorious - a promise that not only anchors the soul but fires the soul with hope. Life is not an outrageous horror, though we witness outrages daily. The outrage is not the bottom line. The sting of death has been overcome.
the victory of Christ is not established by platitudes or conjured-up positive mental attitudes. Jesus is not the Good Humor Man. His call to joy is rooted in reality: 'Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.' - John 16:33. therein resides our future hope - that Christ has overcome the world. He stared directly into the face of death and death blinked." - Devotional from R.C. Sproul
revelation 21:1-4 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from the eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, NOR PAIN anymore, for the former things have passed away."
lately, with all this being around me, with the reality of the finality of death (at least on earth) all around me, its hard for me to comprehend heaven. some times its hard for me to hold it in my mind and really find comfort in life everlasting in heaven. i know in my heart of hearts that its real. i believe that God is sovereign, that He is merciful, and that He welcomes His children to heaven with open arms. i believe and trust that He has prepared a place for mom hipsky and that when He calls her home, it will be in His perfect timing. so how come i'm struggling to find the peace that resides in God's promises? perhaps my flesh is keeping me at bay, perhaps i'm letting the idea of death consume me, when i should be welcoming it, as its an end to this crappy world we currently live in. perhaps i'm allowing my emotions and flesh to dictate how i react. i don't know.
i have been keeping track of a sister in Christ's facebook status' about how she is responding to life now that her husband has passed and she is left to raise her 2 young sons by herself. she has such a strong faith and i feel like my faith is so weak right now. i believe and truly LOVE God. i trust in His sovereignty. i trust that HE is faithful when we are faithless. i know that He is good. but when i think about people i love dying... its not as easy anymore to think of them leaving and going to a better place, going to heaven. i even know that one day, He will call on me and i will call heaven my home. but when i was younger, it was easier for me to face death. why is it so difficult to face now?
i feel this way, yet i read a devotional today by r.c. sproul that gave me such great comfort. perhaps my aching heart and soul needs to just keep reading and praying. go figure, that which God asks us to do (read His word and pray) is the answer to all my questions. i still may not ever understand why it affects me so much more these days (death i mean), but if i do as God calls and read His word, pray, and find comfort in His church, than i know i will be okay. i want my response to death to be appropriate. i want to grasp it, accept it, understand it. i want to look at situations with an eternal mindset, with a Heavenly mindset. Lord, help me to hold fast to your word and promises.
-----
Here are parts of the devotional I read and hope to reflect on today, on anticipating heaven... "eternal life for the individual is not an empty human aspiration built on myth, but an assurance promised us by Christ Himself. His own triumph over the grave is the church's hope for our participation in His life...
the promise of heaven is indeed glorious - a promise that not only anchors the soul but fires the soul with hope. Life is not an outrageous horror, though we witness outrages daily. The outrage is not the bottom line. The sting of death has been overcome.
the victory of Christ is not established by platitudes or conjured-up positive mental attitudes. Jesus is not the Good Humor Man. His call to joy is rooted in reality: 'Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.' - John 16:33. therein resides our future hope - that Christ has overcome the world. He stared directly into the face of death and death blinked." - Devotional from R.C. Sproul
revelation 21:1-4 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from the eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, NOR PAIN anymore, for the former things have passed away."
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