|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Scripture: The LORD says: "My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. "Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don't return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. That's how it is with my words. They don't return to me without doing everything I send them to do." Isaiah 55:8-11 (CEV) Is it as difficult for you as it is for me when someone dies before their time? During the tornado’s that ravished Tennessee in 2008 there was so much damage and loss of life. My good friends in Lafayette, TN stepped up to the challenge by assisting families and inviting them to their church for counseling and relief. Michael and Julie Welch were old friends and were serving that community so effectively. After the storm they and their children Jesse and Hannah were delivering relief supplies to families who no longer had a car to pick up what they needed. They were all instantly killed in a tragic auto accident. I didn’t find out until the next day as I attended a Vacation Bible School preview in Nashville. I was stunned. I was sick at my stomach. I wanted to say, “This can’t be!” They were much more effective than me. They had it all together. I knew them well. I had filled the pulpit for Michael. I had helped Julie with logistics for a Community Bible Study in Shelbyville. I had climbed into the children’s tree house and played with them. I had eaten in their home. Why had God allowed them to die? Why weren’t they protected? They weren’t done with their mission yet!!! I have done many funerals. I have provided numerous hours of Pastoral Care at hospitals, bedsides, homes and barns. I have seen people broken hearted and God always gave me a word for them that brought them comfort. I would share Scripture and pray for them and God’s grace always met their need. But when I heard of this tragedy I was literally sick and angry at God. Yes, I said I was mad at God and there was no answer to the question, “Why?” I couldn’t come to terms with this news. For two days I moped around my home and couldn’t find relief. I was battling sorrow and disappointment. I tried to pray, I tried to read Scripture to no avail. I called some of my best friends and they knew about the situation but I didn’t really tell them I was having a crisis of faith. A crisis of
faith is when you reach a point that you don’t have an answer
for a situation but the situation demands an answer. I believe my God
is a good God. It says so in Psalms 25:7-8. “All our days are
planned for us” so it says in Psalms 139:16. God will lead us
“through the valley of the shadow of death” as David penned
in Psalm 23. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Yes, yes I know
all these Scriptures are true, but I couldn’t receive them. Finally,
on Saturday evening after the accident I told the Lord, I must get some
relief, that I couldn’t stand in the pulpit and proclaim His word
unless He helped me. Then He spoke. So quietly you wouldn’t have
heard it but I did. “My ways are not your ways”. Yes, I
know that Lord but I need more. “If the death of four of my servants
serves to move just one person to avoid eternity without me—it
will have been worth it” But Lord they were a great family, he
was a great preacher, and Julie was as close to you as anybody I know,
and those two kids haven’t even lived yet, the cost was too high.
“Yes, I know all about cost, because I turned my back on my only
Son, while you beat Him, and spit on Him and nailed him to a cross.
He took your sins on that cross so you could spend eternity with me.
I know about cost.” Prayer: Lord, as we all face tremendous loss at times and we do not always understand, help us comprehend that we need help with our stubborn hearts and we need to trust You by faith with every situation of life. Amen Prayer
Tip: By praying the Scriptures back to God you are believing
by faith that He does understand.
April 22, 2008 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This
site designed and maintained by Daver - Contact
Webmaster Here |