In the Blink of an Eye

In the last month, some of my friends have experienced the suddenness of life and death. One friend was on a flight with his wife when a woman sitting behind them died. They had to finish the long flight knowing the dead woman’s body would accompany them to their destination. Just last night, Jan and I found out the husband of a couple we were getting to know passed away on Memorial Day unexpectedly. We met them for dinner just a few months ago and listened to all the plans they had for their future. I could tell similar stories of when unanticipated and deeply painful experiences suddenly take place in the blink of an eye.

I felt it was important to encourage some of you with the promise that God has a plan for these moments in your life. We can’t really plan for the sense of loss and separation we will feel in those overwhelming experiences. God knows what we will come up against when we receive the news we never wanted to hear. That is why He has a plan. Our plan is to make sure we have adequate insurance and that the affairs of our lives are in order. That is part of being a wise, loving and forward-thinking person. 

God’s plan really simple. It is trust. Trust must be developed. It can’t be purchased from an insurance agent or promised as a financial return on an investment. It is developed and matured each time we think of the unthinkable. The thoughts that take our breath away when we consider their harsh possibilities must be addressed and told where to park in our thinking. Trust will reformulate our concept of future loss.

God the Father is intimately acquainted with grief. He knows just what you will need when you face your last moment on Earth or when a loved one breathes their last and you stare death in the face and feel its cold and granite-like finality. As Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father to release resurrection life in His dead body, so it needs to be for each of us who follow Jesus Christ. We must trust that somewhere in the very real pain of a future loss, a resurrection will be the ultimate reality. That is our only real hope in this life. It is the only place where trust can be experienced.