THE GOD WHO

BRINGS COMFORT

I am sitting here in my office at my laptop with tears in my eyes , sadness in my heart.  Now I know what some of you must feel in your grief.  I have been spared in recent years from such grief.  I have ministered as a Pastor to many with such grief and sorrow, but now I feel that pain, and can better reach out to you and others who are in a cloud of sorrow.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our comfort abounds through Christ” II Corinthians 1:3-5.

My dear mother, who was 92 years of age, passed into the arms of Jesus last night.  And I knew that someday she would go home to Jesus, but when it does happen it brings such pain.  She was in church on Sunday morning, and passed into glory on Sunday night.  Oh, and the memories and the smile she had when we were there at her home last fall!  And I think that next time we go to my home town, she will not be there.  But then I think of heaven and what joy she must be experiencing right now.  She met her Savior who she served faithfully, and then my father who passed when I was a child. I think of a song in regards to my dear mother, as she indeed did say, in effect, “Goodnight Here, but Good Morning up There.” ( By Lizzie DeArmond)

When comes to a weary a blessed release, when upward we pass to His kingdom of peace, when free from the woes that on earth we must bear, we’ll say “good night” here, but “good morning” up there.

Refrain:  Good morning up there where Christ is the Light, Good morning up there where cometh no night; when we step from this earth to God’s Heaven so fair, we’ll say “good night” here but “good morning up there.

When fadeth the day and dark shadows draw nigh, with Christ close at hand, it is not death to die;

He’ll wipe every tear, roll away every care; we’ll say “good night here, but “good morning” up there.

When home lights we see shining brightly above, where we shall be soon, through His wonderful love, we’ll praise Him who called us His Heaven to share, we’ll say “good night” here, but “good morning” up there.

And I think of so many of the dear saints who I call my “little flock,” and that several of those dear ones will also pass into heaven in the next months, and what glory awaits them there.  Some have suffered so much and others are very aged and feel eternity in their hearts, and that time is drawing near.

As I shared in an earlier blog, it is like we are on a pathway, a journey of life.  Jesus Himself talked about the two roads to eternity.  In our journey the road gets steep and hard to climb sometimes.  Our old bodies don’t feel like moving on sometimes, but He beckons us on, walking ahead of us on the path, clearing the fog and storms which come and directing us around rocks of suffering that may block the pathway. But as we look there ahead, around that next bend, “we see the light of that city so bright, our home sweet home.”

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, no more crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” Revelation 21:4.

Can we even begin to imagine a world where there will be no tears, death or sorrow or pain? We will be living in a new world, a world where God Himself will wipe away our tears.  This old world is a world of sorrow and pain and we go through so many trials.  Our bodies get old and we fade away, as it were.  But I am looking forward to that day, a day of eternal joy, a day when we never have to stand over a coffin and say “goodbye.”  It will be a day when leaving loved ones after a visit and knowing that we may never see them again on this earth, and have to tell them “goodbye.”  I think of a day when I don’t have to say “goodbye” to my children who live on the other side of the country.  Oh, what a blessed hope we have!  What a Wonderful God we serve!  And I know that the older I become, the more I feel heaven in my heart.  Do you feel that way my friend? Is heaven in your heart?  Are you eternally secure with Jesus?

Oh, don’t travel this road of life without Him!  I wonder sometimes, in visiting people who do not know the Lord, how they manage those terrible trials without Him.  And I have met some who absolutely refused Him even in their pain, and that always grieves my heart.

So this day my friend, please turn your life over to Jesus, who died and rose again so you can have eternal life with Him forever.  Be secure in Him and know when your hour comes you can slip instantly into the arms of your Savior.  And remember, sometimes that hour comes without any warning, always be ready to meet Jesus.  Don’t let another day go by without calling on Him to save you.

Mother was ready and waiting for that day, and now I can say for my mother:  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” II Timothy 4:7-8.

Blessings,

Pastor Sharon