Precious in HIS sight

Tuesday the tenth of July, the following scripture started to ring in my ears:

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15 NIV & NKJV

The NLT puts it this way: "The Lord's loved ones are precious to him; it grieves Him when they die."

In the NASB: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones."

July 10th one of the members of my church family was suddenly called home to be with the Lord. He was called home while completing a mission trip to Ukraine with his wife and other church members. A Ukrainian Student died in the same accident and a missionary was seriously injured.

This raises the proverbial question: Why do bad things happen to good people?

If we were concerned only with our church member it might be simply answered. Going home to the Lord is not a bad thing. Having committed our lives to the Lord, being baptized, confessing our sins and following Jesus Christ means that we do not die. We simply go from life on earth to life eternal. We slip the confines of our earthly bodies with all their limitations and complications and find ourselves in Heaven at the feet of our Lord.

What about the family left behind to cope without their loved one? Does God care? Did God ignore the prayers offered for safety of those on the trip?

Wasn't this man doing Your work, Lord?
Weren't all three doing Your Work, Lord?
Why?
Why this man?
Why now Lord?
Didn't your hear our prayers for safety?
Did you just ignore them, God?
What gives Lord?

On earth those questions remain unanswerable.

In His mercy God sends us comfort, the strength to go on, and others from His family of faith to surround us with their love and with His love.

God also sends us HIS Word to edify us. In Ephesians 6 we learn that God, in His wisdom has given us many kinds of protective armor and one offensive tool, the sword. We are told: "take up the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17b Amplified)

So I lifted up the sword, God's Word, for help in answering the unanswerable.

Consequently, another scripture immediately came to mind:

"All creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Romans 8:19

As we used to sing this: "All creation is straining on tiptoe just to see the sons of God come into their own."

That song and scripture always paint a word picture for me. In my mind's eye I see all of Heaven's company leaning over  the balcony rails of Heaven looking down on us, eagerly waiting to see what we will do next for the Kingdom of God. I imagine them cheering us on, shouting their approval of our efforts and then giving us a victorious welcome when we reach the gates of Heaven. In the throne room our heavenly Father, with Jesus seated at his side, gives us a high five with the words: "Well done my good and faithful servants."

So, yes, our prayers were heard. Our ultimate safety is not remaining in this world but in having a place at our Heavenly Father's table waiting for us with our name on a card stating: This place is reserved for_________." (insert your name here.)

Psalm 116:15 assures us that God is close to us and we are precious to Him. He chooses the time to call us home, into His presence. Each life is valuable to Him.

In Matthew 10:29 -31 Jesus himself tells us: "Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows."

Where does this leave the family left behind?

They are loved and protected by their family of faith, watched over by their heavenly father and cheered on by the whole host of Heaven as they walk forward day by day.

Psalm 56:8 "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (NLT)

God is intimately acquainted with our lives. Every aspect of our lives, no matter how minuscule is of concern to Him. We can confidently and joyfully participate in all of life knowing that God is compassionate and aware of the disappointments, frustrations, anger or grief as well as the joys and triumphs we face in life. Each one of our tears is collected by Him, inspected carefully and treasured. They are as valuable to Him as precious jewels. Enduring under His care has a purpose and glorifies Him.

We can rest assured that having accepted the gift that defies description, the gift of the life of His very own Son, Jesus the Christ, in exchange for our lives; He will wipe away all the tears from our life forever. Revelation 21:4

Finally, God's Word gives us additional assurance: "None of this fazes us, because Jesus loves us. I am absolutely convinced that nothing - living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8; 38 & 39 (The Message)

A HUG!

A hug from God Almighty. Our loving Father in Heaven sends us a hug and the assurance we are HIS!

Lord God Almighty, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ to walk this earth in flesh and blood, to experience all that we experience and then to return to You leaving us with the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to edify and guide us. Thank You for your Word to use as a guide and as an offensive weapon. All praise be to Thee for saving a place at Your table for those who have accepted the gift of Your Son, Jesus, as their Lord, Savior and Friend. Amen.