"Hope"

Sadly they all said good-bye,

To those too soon laid down to die,

Made the nation pray and cry,

To stop this madness we must try.

But someone shared a brighter fate,

Children running, heaven’s gate,

In Jesus’ arms to celebrate,

With Him it’s not too soon or late.

The Bible says we do not grieve,

When from this earth our loved ones leave,

The same as those without reprieve,

But with God’s hope our hearts relieve.

And if without this hope, it’s true,

I wonder what on earth we’d do,

When horror comes, God sees us through,

The Spirit’s comfort, each day new.

Do you have a broken heart,

Pain so bad it came apart,

Wonder if you’ll ever start,

To feel the One who does His part.

I do not pretend to know,

Explain what devastates us so,

But there is hope and heaven’s glow,

Is strong in those who to Him go.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again- my Savior and my God!” (Psalm 43:5, NLT)

The death of a loved one is a deep heartbreak. We are confronted with feelings that are sometimes very difficult to bear. When grieving we shouldn’t make any serious life choices. Our feelings are too raw to exercise wisdom. The Psalmist understood sadness, but counseled himself to hope in God. Paul wrote that we do not grieve as others do, who have no hope for eternal life. Bottom line: dying is a part of living and we can’t escape it. It becomes part of our story, but does not define us. What does? Hope is what defines our story as believers in Jesus. That’s because we believe in heaven.

Lord, help us hope in You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Teal Blake, tealblake.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Teal, and God bless you.