The following is an excerpt from Ada Brownell's book, Swallowed by Life.
Link: http://buff.ly/TLkr0a
One time as we
were traveling, I was in the back seat resting with my eyes closed and began
thinking about how Carolyn’s young life was cut short.
Previously
when grief hit me, I’d often catch my breath and begin whispering the name of
Jesus. This day, however, tears oozed through my eyelids.
“Lord,
heaven is so silent!” I complained.
I
had prayed for months, grasping onto God in faith, continually staying in the
Word and prayer. Most of the time, peace filled me. That day, a poisonous
bitterness erupted instead as I complained about feeling forsaken.
Then,
I felt rebuke.
It
wasn’t an audible voice, but in my spirit I could hear Jesus tell me, “I made a
statement about my love for you two thousand years ago on the cross that still
echoes around the world. That is enough.”
Just
as quickly as I felt anger, which is one of the stages of grief, I felt
overwhelmed with God’s love for me. Yes! The cross was enough. It not only was
enough to show God’s love for me and my daughter, but it also gave anyone who
will accept His love hope because death will be swallowed by life for all
eternity.
No
wonder people can face death with peace. No wonder there is joy, even when we
know life on earth is temporary. No wonder sin holds no attraction for many! No
wonder people rejoice that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the
ungodly (Romans 5:6–8).
Many
people have an erroneous view of God.
One
time my coworkers were in a discussion in which I didn’t participate because I
was busy at my desk. Then one of those entrenched in the debate paused long
enough to ask me, “Isn’t that right, Ada? God carries a big stick.”
“I
don’t know how you can say that and look at the cross,” I responded.
If
you want to know about God, read the Bible for yourself. Beginning with Genesis
and ending with Revelation, it is a story about redemption—for you. Redemption
from sins, which means when you repent they’re wiped out—erased from the record
(Micah 7:17-19). Redemption from Satan, who would like to have you (Luke
22:31). Redemption from the eternal death sentence on your head (John 5:23-25).
“For
it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ
was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him,
He will appear the second time, without sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27).
To get an idea of salvation in a nutshell,
start with John’s Gospel.
Hearing
the Word, reading the Word, and keeping a prayer on our lips is how we get to
know God better. We can talk to God when we’re angry with Him or people around
us. We can talk to God when all we can think of is, “Why?”
When
grief hits us like a huge wave of the sea, we can get up and purpose to know
God better. Through our trials, we learn God is faithful. In our struggling and
in our weakness, suddenly we understand we can ride grief’s thunderous waters
instead of letting them knock us off our feet.
We
find that God’s grace and love come like waves, too, lifting us up with joy as
we learn that He created us for eternal life in the beginning, and the miracle
still happens. Death is swallowed by life.
©Copyright Ada
Brownell October 2011
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