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Comfort to the Bereaved

by Chris Umeweni  
2/02/2009 / Death

Dearest one,
I know how you feel right now. It hurts so much that you will not see or feel that loved one of yours again here on earth. It has even made you not to concentrate on your daily activities. You think the whole world has ended. "How would I go on without him or her?" You ask yourself.

But one thing with Jesus is that He easily feels what one may feel. When He announced His death to His disciples, He understood how they felt and how they will feel. Therefore, He gave them a truth that I will want you to commit to heart:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:1,2)

The disciples were so troubled. How could they carry on without Jesus, a man of compassion, love and forgiveness? A man who will give all to see for theirs and others' welfare. Does it actually mean that they would all of a sudden stop hearing those sweet and loving words of Jesus?

Jesus, understanding their plight, said the same Words He is saying to you now, "Let not your heart be troubled."
Perhaps you have decided within you that you will commit suicide because of the one you lost. Jesus, the lover of your soul is saying, "Let not your heart be troubled."

I lost my dad at a young age when I feel I needed him the most, but here I am still joyous and fulfilling my purpose and stay on earth. Had I focused on his death, I would have missed the goodies from my heavenly Father.

For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14b)

As long as we are on this earth, our bodies are subject to death. You, who is a spirit, will live on.
Let me put it this way, just as Benny Hinn did. It is like a glove worn in the hand. When you see the glove, it is not actually the glove moving or working. It is the hand inside the glove actually doing the movement. The glove is just a covering. At a time, the glove is removed and then the hand shows.
So, that is exactly what happens when one dies. Such a one truly is not dead, but has put off the covering, which is like the glove. So, what you see in the coffin is not your loved one but the body which is just a covering. Your loved one lives on.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name Of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13)

As Christians who believe in Jesus, we are not only looking forward to eternal life someday, we already have eternal life (the God-kind of life). Praise God! It actually means that we immediately cross from death into life when we are born anew. We cannot die again. Such good news!

It is little wonder that the great apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21 said:

For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity].

The Good News Bible puts it this way:

For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death then will bring more.

Here, Paul understanding the gift of eternal life says to die is gain. Hallelujah! This is one great reason we ought to truly embrace Christ while we live.

This man of hope, Jesus, never stopped at telling them not to trouble themselves. He also gave them a message of hope:

If you [really] love Me, you will keep [obey] My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby), that He may remain with you Forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or Know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be with you. I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn and helpless]; I will come [back] to you. (John 14:15-18 Amp)

And truly, when Jesus left, the Comforter the Holy Spirit was freely given to men.

Yes, I know you have been made an orphan as a result of that death, but Jesus says He will not leave you as orphans. The Comforter will take you by hand and take you to where you are meant to be in life. It is only He that can send across the right men and women that should come your way to take you to your destiny.

The book of Esther narrates the story of Esther an orphan girl who was made queen overnight. What a favour! We serve that same God. Your dreams and destiny must never die because you are an orphan.
The Holy Spirit, your Comforter, is there to comfort you. What a comfort!

Could it be that it made you a widow. Oh, how the Father loves and is interested in widows! Can you unwaveringly accept God's proposal to be your husband? He will make you a widow with a difference:

God, who lives in His sacred temple, cares for orphans and protects widows.
(Psalm 68:5 GNB)

Don't you dare give up on those children of yours. Limited space may not permit me to remind you of my mother who became a widow when the four of us all were young. Against hope, she believed in hope (Romans 4:18). Now her generation calls her blessed.
God is still saying to you:

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy wall are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:15,16)

Maybe, your sponsor is the victim. Never bow to the devil. Look up to God. He's concerned about you.
Could it be you lost that baby of yours? God is taking care of him or her in heaven and is able to replace with another for you.
As ambassadors of Christ here on earth, let us not allow anything deviate our purpose. For one of these days, we will go back to heaven and give report of how we lived and represented Jesus on earth.

For there is no permanent city for us here on earth, we are looking for the city which is to come. (Hebrews 13:14 GNB)

It might have been that the death happened suddenly or disastrously. And this has made you curse God or doubt his existence. Go back to Him in prayers and ask for forgiveness. The devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking for whom to destroy. Jesus reveals this truth:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

The devil never rests. That is why we must always watch and pray even for our loved ones.

Another parable put he forth unto them saying, The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. (Matthew 13:24,25)

Never be too careless and selfish again as to forget that God has made you a priest to intercede for your loved ones. The only business the devil has is to destroy.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 15:57)

An Evangellist cum Author
http://www.chrisumeweni.com

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