The saying goes that "bad things happen to good people," and though it has become quite popular, some may not know that the basis for this saying is scriptural.
"…He maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
Seasons come and go in our lives just as surely as they do in nature. We have our times when everything is going well, and other times when we feel as if the bottom were dropping out.
It is easy to rejoice in the summer of our lives and things are going our way. It is in the coldness of winter, when nothing is going right and sadness looms behind every door that we recognize our need of a word.
Though we wish it were not so, we are not exempt from suffering by reason of our salvation experience or Sanctified lifestyle. So, while we may look at situations and wonder how this or that could happen, we must be reminded that it is just a part of life…blessings and defeat, prosperity and lack, life and death, sunshine and rain come both to those who live victorious lives as well as to the unsaved.
Of all the things I just mentioned, it seems that that the hardest trial that comes is the death of a loved one. Even for those who believe that this is not all there is and rejoice in the hope that we will see them again, there is no getting around the fact that death is separation and never easy.
Certainly the most difficult death with which to deal is that of a child. The main reason for this is that it goes against nature. I shall never forget the pain in my father's voice when he said, "It just doesn’t seem right that a grandson should die before the grandfather!"
The natural order of things would cause us to think in those terms, that children should outlive their elders. However, the imperfect world we live in dictates that sometimes order is pushed aside by accident, sickness, disease, or some other tragic circumstance.
On August 9, 2001, our family experienced this first hand when we received the devastating news of the death of my nephew. His name is John and he was 20 years old.
John was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 10 years old and never dealt with it very well. What I mean by that is that he didn’t take care of himself…eating right and all that goes with maintaining life with diabetes.
He was a good boy, raised in a Sanctified home and his father was his pastor. John loved the Lord and all things spiritual, especially music, and wrote wonderful poetry.
A lasting and endearing memory for me is that after reading my first book, and though it was rather strong and 'up front' in presentation, John told my brother, "Dad, I believe everything in that book!"
John knew the Word and believed God, yet even though he was prayed for by powerful men and women of God, my boy died.
While there are so many unanswered questions, there is no doubt in my mind that healing and miracles are real and for us today. I have literally seen the blinded eye opened and the infirm not only rise from the wheelchair, but rise and walk.
However, we know that not everyone is healed. It is logical to ask then, if healing is for everyone and all are not healed, why is this so? Who has the answer? I know I don’t, and quite frankly, I don’t believe anyone else knows either.
Many seek for answers and even reasons why some leave here by way of the grave, and our family is no exception…
Did John’s death mean that God failed him?
NO!! Almighty God is STILL a healer, even if no one is ever healed again.
Was the failure in the preachers who prayed?
NO…I don’t believe that for a second. They were praying the prayer of faith, speaking the Word over his life, and believing God for a miracle.
Well, then does that mean the failure was in John?
No, I don’t believe that either.
I believe that the same God who saw the end from the beginning had a plan and taking John home was in that plan.
The Master did not ask our permission first or check with us in any way, yet I am convinced that this was somehow His will and timing. The all seeing eye of a sovereign and loving God saw farther down the road than you or me and made a decision…and He didn’t need our approval.
However, knowing that and accepting it is not always easy. It often takes divine intervention before the realization and acceptance can be manifested.
As I have already taken up too much time and space here on this, I won't go into the rest of the story, of how God soothed the heart and mind of my brother and sister in law in the weeks and months to follow.
But as I thought about John today, it just seemed that I needed to write my heart...
I don't understand it to this day, but I trust the One who knows all things and never makes mistakes.
You are missed, son...greatly missed...
Linear Mode
