Saturday, August 12, 2006

To Be Absent in Body

Tonight I visited the wake of a dear sister in the Lord who passed on early Thursday morning. While there the words of another sister touched me deeply. The sister that died was actually the founder and pastor of her church and in the course of sharing with us she said that she was looking forward to a powerfully anointed service tomorrow morning because she fully believed that God could raise Sister Dolly from the dead. Listening to her I felt my faith leap and grow because we serve the same God that raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. The same God that arose from the dead himself after three days.

What I realised upon hearing her speak was that I had accepted her death as final. I had not enquired the will of the Lord in the matter but just accepted the situation as it was. I realised too that this could be happening in other areas of our lives as Christians where things happen and we just accept them as the will of the Lord, especially negative things. The situation might say, this is it (e.g. my marriage is over or I have an incurable disease or I can never change) but God is bigger than any situation, and no matter how dire it may seem, God can still turn it around. The stench of death can be quickly wiped away by the perfume of life.

So when the sister said that God can bring our sister back to life for His own glory I agreed wholeheartedly because I was reminded that I serve a great and mighty God.