Joy in the Midst of Suffering

Our world has been rocked recently by sadness, tragedy and loss. Our only hope has been Christ as our foundation and strength. I have to admit...I have never really experience tragedy and loss before. I have never lost someone close to me, I have never been to a funeral or memorial service and I have never had anyone really close to me get very, very sick. So all that has happened in the past week has been very difficult to process, understand and just cope with.

If you read my last blog post you know that our dear friend Levi Johnson went home to be with the Lord this past Saturday. His memorial service is this afternoon and I get the joy and honor to be a part of it and help lead worship and Brian will give a testimony of his close friendship and love for Levi. It will be a difficult but joyous occasion as we know that Levi is in heaven dancing with the angels and will no longer suffer here on earth. I have to choose every day to take comfort in that.

You think it would be hard enough to just bear the pain of losing a close friend...well, Brian's dad found out yesterday that he has stage 3 or 4 cancer of his appendix, colon/the surrounding area. It's very serious and will be very difficult to fight. While I am so broken for the rest of his family and devastated myself, I just can't imagine the loss and sadness that Brian has been feeling. It has been the most difficult week of our lives for both of us.

We have cried, prayed, laughed, been in shock, broken, sad- so many emotions that have flooded our hearts!

I have to say that there is no way we could have ever gotten through this without the strength the Lord has provided throughout these past few days. He is good, even in the midst of tragedy. So good.

The hymn "Be Still My Soul"- Sung by Selah has been playing on repeat in my mind and heart throughout all of this. Here are the lyrics:

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine. 

I am reminded by this song that the Lord will always be by our side and that God will always provide. He is my friend and gives me joy, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Another song that has been on my heart is "Great is Thy Faithfulness". I am reminded that God is faithful no matter what our circumstances. I listed to a sermon from Matt Chandler a while ago and ever since Levi passed away it has been on my heart...so Wednesday night I finally decided to try to find my notes from it. I couldn't believe I found and what's crazy is I listened to the sermon on September 29, 2011 and Levi died on September 29, 2012. God has a way of preparing our hearts in advance sometimes! It was so good to read over my notes...Matt Chandler was preaching about The Theology of Death. He said something that has always stuck with me...that no one ever dies early. ever. We all need to learn to be confident in God's ownership over our days. As Christians, he has a specific calling and purpose on each of our lives. Once that purpose and calling has been fulfilled we get to enjoy heaven with Jesus, forever! God owns my days, he owns your days, he owns my family's days...that should give us confidence. That nothing can cause us to die early. God is holding it all together in the palm of His hand. He owns it....and in that I find joy!