29 March 2020
In the past several days, life suddenly changed here in Michigan and in much of the world. What we used to do routinely, we can no longer do without thinking about the effects that it could have on others and ourselves. We miss going shopping as a family. We can’t meet as a church. Even the playground is shut down. We did not see this coming.
Ten years ago, we were expecting to have a newborn baby girl with us. We dreamed about it. We planned about it. We prayed about it. We were so excited about what was coming. We never imagined that she would be born much sooner than expected and pass away the same day. We did not see this coming. It almost seemed like a bad dream and it took some time to adjust to the change in our lives.
Nobody had an explanation for what we were going through. But even when they didn’t have an explanation, answer, or an encouraging word, so many people gave us what we needed—they pointed us to the nearness and the love of God. In the midst of this painful struggle, they were present.
The things that we experienced 10 years ago and are now experiencing today are not outside of God’s sovereign purpose. The struggles in life remind us that there is no place on this earth that we can be safe. The reality is that we are all going to die. Some pass away as early as Esther did, two hours after being born. Some, like Esther’s great grandmother Esther (from whom she received her name) die in their sleep at the age of 59. And others like her other great grandmother, Nina (from whom she received her middle name), who die in a hospital at the age of 90.
The internet can easily calculate how may days we have lived or how many days have passed since someone died (3653 in Esther’s case). But it really can’t tell us anything about the future of the stock market, the next crisis, our job security, or how many days we have left on this earth. Things in life may be taken away from us: our money, our health, our jobs, our family, our ability to go to church. But the most important thing in life that cannot be taken away from us is our salvation in Jesus Christ.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” --Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)
When we see our current circumstances, we can become despaired. But when we choose to put our eyes on Jesus and His promises, we realize that our difficult situation is just a momentary affliction.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” --2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
If you are living with fear, anxiety, depression, or hopelessness because of the difficult things in life and you want to experience the peace and joy that comes only from God, we invite you to ask Jesus to come into your heart.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” --John 14:6
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -- John 14:27
