Not without hope

When I was 13, a friend of mine I'd known since first grade died in a tragic accident. It was one of those things that could have been prevented, but it wasn't. I was devastated. All through the rest of my years in school, I lost someone almost every single year. Death was all around me, and I didn't know what to do with that. My parents didn't know how to help me at that time, so I was on my own, grief stricken, freaked out, and constantly wondering if I was next.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul said, "We don't want you to grieve like other people who have no hope." When I was 13, I had no hope. I had not yet heard the true Gospel of Jesus. I didn't know the truth and the purpose of His coming.  A debilitating fear of death weighed me down. It was all I ever thought about. It was so heavy that, although my body was alive, I ceased living.

Today, even though there are many to grieve for, my grief is different. There is a heaviness in my heart and a deep understanding of the passing of time. I am very aware of the fact that I will not always be here.

There are some people who have gone on before me whom I will miss every day for the rest of my life on earth. But today, I do not grieve like those who have no hope. Today, I have the hope, the certain expectation of heaven. I know that it is a real place, because Jesus plainly said He was going there to prepare a place for me. (John 14:3)  So on days like today when my heart is heavy with missing those who are already with Him, when I long to be home, too, and the burdens of this life feel too heavy for me, I will remember and cling to the promise of heaven in Revelation 21:4, and I will have hope, because God always keeps His promises.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Father, thank You that Your promises are always true. Thank You that, because You are who You say You are and You always do what You say You will do, I have peace and hope for today and for tomorrow, no matter what it might bring. Help me to be a light for those who have no hope, that they may have that peace, too.

In His steadfast love,

Amy

copyright 2011, Amy Wallace