brokenredeemed

I’ve struggled to get this post completed this month because, to be completely honest, March was a rough month. It began with the loss of a brother-in-Christ on the first of the month. The news of this young friend whose life was taken so suddenly and left behind a young mom with two small children, shattered my heart.

Over the next few weeks, I found myself struggling to worship and repeated the phrase, “help me worship even when it hurts.” I was reading the book of Job with my daughter during this time, which probably added to my grief and anxiety over my own family. But I soon found that my heart wasn’t only grieving for my one sister in Christ and family, but for many friends who have lost sisters and parents, and those dealing with life-altering illnesses, over the last few years. I began writing a poem, that I’ve yet to complete, but I titled “Between Grief and Glory.” As I started it, I wrote about how even though life is hard, we serve a good God who deserves our worship.

There’s a term that you often hear in the Christian community about how, as believers, we live in the “now, but not yet.” It refers to the immediacy of being saved by the cross–our salvation being complete by Christ’s death and resurrection–the now. And yet, we must live in this sin-ridden world full of death, pain, sickness, etc., until Christ’s return–the consummation–when our future hope in eternal life is made sight and complete. So this is where I was, struggling in this place, between grief and glory.

Realizing that my poem was leaning more towards our struggle, rather than our hope in Christ, I pulled up Romans 8:18-25:

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Slowly, I began to focus on our future hope rather than the pain around me. And as I was getting ready to attend my brother’s funeral, I began to sing, “It is well, with my soul,” knowing we’d see him again some day. Funny thing…”It is Well,” was the song playing when we drove to the funeral and the song Pastor quoted at the end of his message. God was reminding me He is still listening, He still cares, and He’s still good.

Now, as I look back over that unfinished poem, I’m reminded of the Psalms and how often David’s poems of lament began with feelings of being forgotten, “How long, oh God?” But they always came back to God’s goodness. The book of Job also does a good job of reminding us that God wants us to come to Him with every emotion, good, bad, or ugly, but ultimately we must remember that we serve a sovereign God. He’s good and perfect, and we may not understand all His ways, but He’s so very trustworthy.

The Sunday after the funeral, our Pastor preached on the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6) and confirmed much of what God had been revealing to me. He talked about salvation being a process–justification, sanctification, and our future glorification. And how in heaven we’ll be in perfect communion with God, which is our future hope!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~1 Peter 1:3-7

In conclusion, while our hearts may still hurt for the pain and suffering, loss, trials, and tribulation, we all must endure (some seemingly more than others); there is a future hope for those of us who believe in Christ. And it’s that future hope that keeps us coming back to the feet of Jesus, over and over again.

Truth, love, and grace to you, my friends!