‘AFTER JESUS had finished all…He entered…’
These words of God were highlighted by the Holy Spirit for me this morning as I was reading my devotional.
“AFTER JESUS had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people [on the mountain], He entered Capernaum.”
Luke 7:1 AMPC
Jesus was only 33 years old when His life on earth ended.
Many would say He died way too young. Ever think about how His friends and family felt when He passed away?
There were people who loved Jesus who grieved when He passed…
Yet God had a plan and a purpose for His life… to impact the lives of a multitude of others.
The people who lived life with Jesus grieved deeply when His life on earth ended.
Just as WE grieve, when OUR loved ones pass on.
God cared about Jesus’s friends.
And God cares about us.
Yes, God cares about their (and our) broken hearts…
Yet God had a purpose.
One that most of us simply do not understand.
Just like God has a plan and a purpose for ALL life-
Life is a gift from God. Whether alive for 1 day or 100 years-ALL life is significant and carries Gods purpose for a bigger picture…HIS picture.
Sometimes it’s not what the individual life can accomplish by themselves and for themselves that matters, but what that life represents in the span of another’s life.
Stop and think for a moment about some of the knowledge that we possess.
Where did we learn from? Who did we learn from?
Sometimes we learn from mistakes.
Our own and also those of others.
But more often than not, we learn by example. We follow the example of those around us.
Infants learn to imitate what their parents do and continue to grow throughout their life… shaped and formed based on their childhood experience.
Ever bump into a personality type that rubs you the wrong way? That just kind of gets on your nerves?
Yeah… me too. I often wondered why… and then I asked God.
Instead of asking God to change them, He let me know that there was something in ME that needed changing…
God was providing me an opportunity through the difficult personalities of others to teach me and develop me.
An opportunity to be chiseled… to be pruned… to be sharpened… to grow… to improve my love walk…
Perhaps the sharp edges of others are being used to file off rough spots on our own hearts… after all, diamonds in the rough need to be revealed by harsh treatment of others…
Proverbs 27:17
‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.’
Both blades are being sharpened and transformed into efficient and effective tools, when used together. By themselves, they remain dull and ineffective.
The truth here is that we need one another.
And the passing of ones life is very important to those who remain and continue to live without them.
We influence one another… and sometimes the detriment of one life coming to end has a lasting, significant impact on the life of another or on a group of people.
Often times, we get so lost in our grief that we are blinded to the blessings… and the lessons, God has for us.
There’s often good that comes out of bad.
The impact of loss forever changes how the lives of others are being shaped, and formed, and molded into Gods perfect plan.
Remember, God is the Potter, we are the clay.
Isaiah 64:8 ESV
‘But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.’
Sometimes, in life… we just plain out feel like a lump of clay.
And we feel like ‘life’ keeps throwing sucker punches at us… a quick jab to the left, and POW 💥- a major blow to the stomach. Right?
Ever hear or say the expression ‘when it rains, it pours?’
We get to the point where we can’t seem to catch our breath, and BOOM! There’s yet another test and trial facing us.
Yikes!
It sometimes hurts to be pressed, pushed, pounded, shaped and molded, as clay… doesn’t it?
When a loved one dies… it leaves a hole in our hearts… we feel lost. We are filled with unanswered hard questions… and often, people blame God.
God knows exactly how we feel!!!
Look at Jesus. His life on earth was short too, but significant to all mankind.
He only lived to age 33.
His life was cut short.
Have you ever thought about it?
I’m sure many of those who loved Him felt robbed and shortchanged when He died on the cross.
I’m sure many said things like ‘it’s not fair!’ Or ‘He didn’t deserve to die’ or ‘He was such a good person’… and in Jesus’s case- it WAS not fair! He DIDN’T deserve to die! He WAS a good person!
In fact- He was SINLESS.
We’ve all heard people ask ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’
Maybe you’ve said it yourself or at least thought it…
I have a few questions for you:
What is ‘good?’ What is ‘bad?’ By who’s standard?
Can not BOTH things or circumstances that are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ be worked out for our good?
Yes. Absolutely.
Romans 8:28 NASB
‘And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.’
God had another purpose for His Son’s life that was greater than His life itself.
Like Jesus, let’s consider the life of others that ended…leaving a gap in ours….
What does this persons life have to teach me?
How might my life be enhanced for the better because of this persons life?
How has the life of my loved one impacted the lives of others?
Am I thankful to God for the gift of their life in mine?
We often times think we have it all figured out don’t we?
Sometimes the perspective is always introverted and we think ‘life is only about me’ or ‘what’s in this for me’ or ‘how can I bear all of this?’
‘Why do I have to endure this?’
These are some of the heart wrenching thoughts and questions many who are grieving experience.
Perhaps instead we should be looking at other questions?
Maybe asking God ‘show me Your purpose in this.’
Or ‘What is it Lord I need to learn from this?’
Or ‘Help me Lord fulfill Your plan for my life regardless for the length.’
God places others in our lives to help us in our development of becoming who God wants us to be.
God uses every emotion and every experience for His good.
Every tear shed, every disappointment, every heart ache, every mistake… God causes even our mistakes to prosper and work out for our good.
Not every ingredient in a recipe taste good by itself.
In fact there’s some ingredients that are downright nasty tasting- for instance, try taking a spoonful of baking powder or baking soda and see how that taste.
By itself NO ONE would eat it and say ‘yum this is so good!’
Yet it (as each ingredient) has a purpose, and by the time the cake comes out of the oven, the entire house smells wonderful and every bite of that cake is going to taste good.
I believe our lives are like a cake recipe…
Throughout our lives, there’s different experiences, good ones and not so good ones… and painful ones.
These experiences are similar to an ingredient of a cake recipe- that by themselves independently appear to be bad and leave a yucky taste in our mouth.
But at the end of our lives, when it’s all put together, we can look back one day and see how God intricately woven in every ingredient of every experience, good and bad, into His beautiful masterpieces…
Our steps are ordained established by God.
Psalm 37:23
‘A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way.’
We need to stop thinking we know it all.
And we need to truly relinquish control to God. Do we trust Him?
Do we REALLY trust Him?
Really? Even when we don’t understand?
Even when it doesn’t make sense?
EVEN WHEN IT HURTS?
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
It’s not always easy to surrender. God is faithful, and He knows all things, and He’s working things out for good…
Not only for YOUR good… but for the good of His Kingdom.
It’s good to plan… but it’s BETTER to seek out GODS plans… for His are the one that matters.
Gods ways are not our ways. We can’t possibly understand everything about God. Only His ways He puts in His Word are we able to understand… to a degree.
Every life matters, and is significant in Gods plans- and…
Every life has a beginning, and an appointed time to end.
Treasure all life. And give your treasures to the Keeper of your heart. 💗
Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
‘Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.’
IAMJESUSGAL 