Give the Gift of Hope - Hope for the Grieving

Have you ever posted, liked, commented on Facebook and then thought, “Dang it, I probably shouldn't have done that?”  OK, maybe I had one of those moments last night.  Thank goodness I don’t have a Twitter account where people share every though that comes into their brain. I would get myself in trouble so fast I’d be like one of those celebrities having to issue speedy apologies and then go to rehab as public penance.

My recent questionable post didn't get any hateful comments. I just got ominous silence, which could mean absolutely nothing except that I tend to be a paranoid freak.  The post had a picture and a quote about grieving for a loved one:

My comment read: I love this photo and it reminded me of one of my favorite scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 The Lord’s Coming

My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won’t grieve over them and be like people who don’t have any hope. We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died. Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won’t go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.

With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. Encourage each other with these words.

This photo was posted on Facebook by a friend who recently lost their wife.  When I read this quote on relationships, I loved it and it filled me with happiness and hope. My initial reaction to this comment was that we don’t have to be sad when we lose a loved one because we have the hope of Heaven and seeing them for eternity.  For example, I look forward to seeing my grandmother again and have absolute faith that she is in Heaven having a grand old time and I will see her again when I take my last breath.  Unless of course I am going to be held accountable for questionable Facebook posts then I’m sunk.  Just Kidding! Thank you Jesus for your grace and forgiveness that covers a multitude of my sin. (1 Peter 4:8, Isaiah 38:17)

So in my defense when I read this picture, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 came to mind because I have an eternal hope and perspective on death.  But I still woke up this morning with a bad feeling that maybe I was insensitive to people grieving.  Perhaps the person that shared this photo was sad and I misunderstood the meaning of this quote. My immediate instinct was to delete this post off my wall but then I felt guilty about deleting God’s word. Was I ashamed of the gospel? Was I afraid to share my faith? Am I completely over thinking this? Probably. I thought I was offering hope but maybe I unintentionally hurt someone. I have been to three funerals this year and have witnessed friends suffering great pain and grief. I have shed tears with them but I do not claim to know the depth of their sorrow.  The grieving process differs for every individual.  But GOD gives us His Word so that we can have light to guide us in our darkest hours.  The light is our hope in things that are eternal.  Hope is defined as “confident expectation”.  We can be confident in God’s promise for eternal life.  

 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)
The Hope of Eternal Life

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 

Recently, I watched a great interview on the Katie Couric Show that really encouraged my faith and made Heaven come alive for me.  Mary C. Neal, MD was interviewed about her book, To Heaven and Back, which is a beautiful account of her spiritual journey to heaven and back after drowning in a kayak accident.  After watching her amazing testimony on the show, I ran to my local Target to buy her book and read it in two days.  I highly recommend it because her testimony will totally blow you away and remind you how much God loves you and desires to spend eternity with you.  It is also a great book for those who have lost a loved one because she shares her heartbreaking testimony of losing her son and also how she has been able to cope by experiencing the hope of heaven.  Because she does a much better job of describing this experience, here are two videos I’d like to share with you. First is a preview of her book and the second is her interview on Katie Couric. I hope they bless you as much as they blessed me.

Watch by clicking on link: Mary C. Neal,MD on Katie Couric

Lastly, I would like to apologize if I seemed insensitive about the loss of a loved one. I truly only saw the peace that comes with knowing that if we believe in Jesus Christ we are promised eternal life with Him and those believers that have gone before us.  We do not have to fear death because Jesus conquered death for us.

 Hebrews 2:14 (MSG)

Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.

 John 11:25 (NIV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

 Revelation 21:4 (NLT) He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.

So I have decided to keep my post on my Facebook wall because God’s word is powerful and He will use it for His glory even if I mess up the delivery.

Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)

It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to,and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Also, when we have good news, we need to share it. How often do we tell our friends when we have received an unexpected Christmas bonus, our child has amazed us with their greatness, we got a great shopping deal, or our prayers have been answered. All this is easily shared. How much more should we share God's free gift of eternal life that is ours for the asking? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:12 "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech.” So even though it is scary sometimes and we stumble through the delivery, proclaim God's goodness and love this season. You never know who needs the gift of hope this Christmas. 

 Love,

Yolanda