Today we are flying back from my husband’s mother’s funeral. We are completely worn out. The year-and-a-half long battle with the inoperable cancer and watching her slowly fade away took it all out of us. The trips back and forth and back and forth, the absences from one another and our own family, the heartache of unfinished business, the letting go of it.
Death is exhausting for the dying, the watchers, and the loved ones. But God says:
Don’t be afraid. I am with you.
Don’t tremble with fear.
I am your God.
I will make you strong,
as I protect you with my arm
and give you victories.
I am the Lord your God.
I am holding your hand,
so don’t be afraid.
I am here to help you.
Isaiah 41:10&13 CEV
The Lord has kept his promises. Jesus mends frail and torn hearts. Only he can give us rest. From the ashes of our broken lives, he makes beautiful things. Let the healing begin. Lord, put us back together. Teach us to number our days. Show us how to apply our hearts to wisdom. Let us live wisely. Let us learn.
We will see her again in heaven. All will be restored. That is the precious relief in the midst of the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Thank you, Lord, for your glorious resurrection. Thank you that when you return, death will no longer have a sting. It will not bite. It will be ended. To you, your promise, and your faithfulness we secure our hope. We trust you. We’re all in.
YouTube video: Tenth Avenue North “Worn”
I SO identify, Melinda!!! I praise God for 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NIV:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Melinda, you exemplify this verse! Thank you so much for sharing and thanks again for your transparency!
Love you,
Aunt Jackie
Weakness is definitely the state of the matter. I have been drawing strength from God’s promise in 2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
EVERYTHING WE NEED FOR A GODLY LIFE is a big promise. From my knowledge of him, I gained strength. I would draw aside and meditate on whatever aspect and truth and fact of Christ met my weakness at that moment. He gave me all I needed.
Oh yes! That’s the story of my life … my life in Jesus! He is my Strength, for I am always weak. Thank you, Melinda!!! I love that promise in 2 Peter! I need to meditate on that scripture MORE!!! THANKS, MELINDA!!!
🙂
When I memorized this passage, the version I used said, “Be not dismayed.” And that came to my mind. I couldn’t remember the book or the verse. I just looked it up, and it’s the same one you quoted. Obviously, our minds were on the same track. Then verse 16b says, “And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.” And that is where we end up after we realize that he has rescued us from death, from defeat, and we rejoice because we know that He is also our Redeemer. And we burst into song, “I know that my Redeemer liveth…..” And because He lives, we, too, shall live! All of the curse will be removed from the earth, and we shall see Him as He is. We shall walk with Him and talk with Him! Amazing!! Yes, He gives us “beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness.” We walk through the valley of death and come out on the other side, as the pastor said at the funeral. Your family is in my prayers! Blessings and hugs!
Thanks for sharing all of that encouragement!