Hope in the midst of grief

Isaiah 57:1-2 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [a] evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.

I Did a Funeral service for the late Mr. Edward Wright in the Month of July, 2019.

Mr. Wright was a great man that had six boys and three girls. He was a man that served the Lord well. He was a mechanic who helped many people in his community. The Lord called him home at the age of 85 years old. He had many grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I have the honor to do his Funeral service.

At the Funeral service, his family, friends and different people come from different parts of the world to pay tribute to this great man. I was able to encourage them with these words at the funeral. I believe, first of all, that the separation is temporary; for Mr. Wright accepted the Lord and Savior in his death bed in front of me. He was a righteous man; the bible says that righteous men are taken away from the Evil that is to come. In all honesty, evil days are here. God in his love for his son saw it fit to call him home before the evils come. I was able to remind the audience that there is no more Sickness, no worrying for medications, and no worrying for his oxygen. There are drive by shootings, carjacking, and housebreaking, all kinds of evil is now happening in this world.

Secondly, I reminded them there are no known benefits for not weeping. Christ never attended a funeral; he didn’t like them. In every case, he raised the dead. Understand that Christ has raised Mr. Wright. In this case, it’s okay to mourn; we know we will see Mr. Wright again. Go ahead and shed those tears. God is collecting them in a jug. Grieving for the Christian is like surfing in the Atlantic Ocean. At the far end, you will see Jesus Christ. At the far end of the ocean you see the light shed by the glory of Christ and you’ll see Mr. Wright with him. Then and only then does the grieving stop and the eternal rejoicing begins. We should concentrate on all of the good things and the good times that we had with Mr. Wright.

Also, as Christians, we have a living hope that comforts our hearts. It is the hope that we will see our loved one again because Christians who die do not cease to exist. They merely change locations. Our loved ones are absent from their bodies, but they are present with the Lord where they are experiencing pleasure and fullness of joy. This Hope can heal broken hearts. While we wait for the time of that wonderful reunion, being thankful for our future hope and our past memories bring healing to us now.

Finally, I was able to remind my audience, not to forget to celebrate the life of Mr. Wright and our families at this time. In celebrating life we need to be thankful, in the words of the Apostle Paul; he said that we need to be thankful to God. Even in the darkest of moments, you can find clear signs of God’s presence and love. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 , it says that we need to be thankful in all situations. But it does mean that we can be thankful for what God is giving us to sustain us in our grief. In our darkness, there are always little lights of God’s grace and love to be found. Friends, families, let us, look for that light. Pay attention to the good things God is doing in our  lives, even in this dark moment, so our grief can be mixed with heartfelt gratitude.

As we mourn Mr. Wright, let the presence of the Lord be with us this time of celebrations. Hoping that one day, we will be united with him in the Lord. There was no better time to give your life  to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ