God is sovereign....even in death.

As I continue to contemplate all that has occured as a result of Hurricane K, I ran across some interesting thoughts (while blogging) on death/dying and how it's all within God's sovereign plan. Although, it does not minimize the pain and grief we feel for the loss of loved ones. I wanted to share them with you, for we are not without hope if we know Jesus.

God determined to take them to His home at the age of ____; the means was incidental. It was one of many ways to die. If God is sovereign, these phrases are not merely fatalistic. They present actual reality. God counted the days of their lives - the hairs on their heads. The breaths in their bodies. The number was finished. They lived 100% of their lives. They were complete.

Death makes us assess the meaning and worth of life. Also, helpful is the reminder that one hundred out of one hundred people die. 100%. If it happens to everyone, we are not being persecuted. Job says to his wife, "Should we only accept good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?"

We have an unspoken expectation that a good God will bring only what we consider to be good things into our lives. We never expect him to allow and perhaps even bring difficulty into our lives. Have you ever noticed that people who suffer are marked with a beauty, a deepening, a transformation? This only occurs, however, when they can enter the suffering and look around for God in the midst of it. Otherwise, they are marked with bitterness and emptiness. God does not allow meaningless suffering. If God has allowed suffering into your life, it is for a purpose. A good purpose. A holy purpose. We have to trust God with everything we have, to open ourselves and say, God it is all yours (my life, my children's lives, etc.) to do with as you will.

Although these were not my words, I did find them compelling. My prayer is that they will minister to you in some way today, as they did me.