Randy & son Aaron

www.truthworks.com          12 FEB 04          devotion archive          send this page to a friend

GOOD GRIEF

I tell you the Truth,

I apologize for the long delay between devotions.  Please bear with me right now.  The doctors have asked us to call family members in for my father, who has gone down hill quickly in the past couple weeks.  But we continue to praise the Lord for my dad’s eternal security in Christ.  My father in law has also been ill in the hospital with multiple blood clots, so my family is being stretched right now.  I just received word this morning that he’s being released so we again rejoice.  And even though we are stretched, please know that my wife and I are doing well and our house is at peace.  Thank you all for your continued prayers.  God continues to be faithful to us.

<*))))))<   <*))))))<   <*))))))<   <*))))))<   <*))))))<

John 16:
¹⁹Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? ²⁰I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

Sometimes we go through periods of life where grief seems to be the center piece of our lives.  So often, life can get lonely and depressing when we grieve.  We wonder if God is out there, if He truly cares.  Grief can be cold and dark.  At times we question even the existence of God when the pain becomes too much.

Let’s examine a few things about grief.  First of all, God never tells us that we’ll escape grief.  Grief is a fact of life.  It means that we are saddened over loosing something that we love.  While we shouldn't grieve of the lose of worldly things, there is a good grief.  Loosing loved ones, friends and things that are of godly importance to us should grieve us.  It’s a thing we must all go through.  Life is full of loses.

But loses in the life of a believer are not the same as loses in the life of the lost.  We have hope.  We have the encouragement of a day to come.  No matter how deeply we grieve and experience pain, there is a morning coming when our loses will have no effect on us.

Jesus knew his disciples were concerned about loosing Him when He told them He must go away for a time.  And He knew they would grieve.  He didn’t tell them that they shouldn’t grieve.  He said they would grieve.

But He also told them that their grief will not last.  Grief will give way to joy in the end.

No matter what any of us have to endure, we can have peace in the midst of grief with the knowledge that Christ has made a way for us to not only endure grief, but that He has overcome grief.

There’s an old song which tells us that joy comes in the morning.  Well, I believe you can have joy in the midst of grief just by knowing that there is a morning on the horizon.

Keep pressing on guys.  He’s with you all the way.

Your Servant,

Randy Hunt
randy@truthworks.com
2TIM 1:7

Memorial Baptist Church
 

brent gambrell ministries
 

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