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Hope Midst Great Grief
A look at life and ministry.
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Hope Midst Great Grief

  03/02/13 10:34, by , Categories: Living Life, Personal Reflections, Theology Lived, Bible Study
"LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. "Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. (Psalms 39:4-7)

Wednesday night as I prepared to climb the stairs to bed I received a question in a text message that punched me in the gut.  Had I heard that a young man, dear to my heart, was gone?  It was hours later that I got the confirmation that this was true.  Over the last three days I have read and reread that message, telling me that Grant was gone, again and again.  There are moments that I weep and know it.  There are an equal number of moments when my mind rebels and refuses to believe it.  Its a dream.

So where is hope?  The deep sorrow of the last three days has sharpened into bright focus just exactly what hope is.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. (Psalms 62:5-8)

True Hope is in Christ.  It is not an ephemeral, mystical, emotional hope.  It is not a wish and it is not generic.  The only real hope is in Christ.  I'm not talking about religion or religious feelings either.

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. (Acts 2:22-24)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, (1 Peter 1:3-6)

Our hope rests 100% in the historic bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  This historical fact is the only thing that gives us hope.  Without that, everything else is just wishful thinking and fantasies to try to make us feel better without a true foundation.  The Christian life as a self-improvement, moral lifestyle only is a pitiful way to live.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:16-22)

Anchored in the fact of the resurrection, I have an understanding of life and death.  I have hope.  The power of God which is able to destroy the enemy that man has never conquered, death, is true hope, and that power was demonstrated as Christ burst from that tomb.  My grief is deep and painful, and mine cannot compare with his immediate family and close friends who lived and worked with him.  This grief does not shake my hope, it intensifies it, because as death always does, it reminds me of the truth that this is a temporary stay, that we are not destined to stay here and none of us can stay.  Everything we carefully construct around ourselves to make ourselves feel safe, happy, or in control is an illusion that is exposed when we come face to face with death.

But I know the master of death.  He defeated it

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

Right now, as Peter says in 1 Peter 1:6, I am distressed by this trial.  It is a hard thing and I can't understand it.  What I can understand is that God is greater, that Christ is stronger and that Grant had received forgiveness for his sins through Jesus, the defeater of death.

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:30-31)

Grant's struggles, and even his ultimate choice in the way he chose to cope with his struggles are irrelevant.  God is all the more faithful for our weakness and Grant is healed and in the joy and fullness of his Savior today.  My sense of loss is great and at times crushing, but because of that, my appreciation of the hope in the victory of Christ is all the stronger and I find myself more oriented to the Kingdom I'm supposed to be oriented to everyday.   We who know Christ will mourn and weep, but not like those who don't have real hope.  We wait on the Lord, we look forward to His promised return and we know that although our sorrow may last through this night, there is a morning coming that will be full of joy, including a blessed reunion with the man who we lost this week.

This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:21-26)
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A look at life and ministry.

About the Author

After growing up in Maine, Ira graduated from Bible College and wandered into Western Maine and has never found his way back out. He has a deep love for the rural churches of Maine and the people who make up this great state. He loves Truth over Tradition, Christ over Culture, and People over Process. He love to equip, teach, and disciple and longs to see the Maine church grow healthy and make disciples.


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