June
30
Psalm
86:16--Psalm 90:6
NO
GOOD THING WITHHELD
Psalm 88:3
"My soul is full
of trouble: my life draweth nigh unto the grave."
Tonight a woman asked
my husband how many children we had. We had been talking
about our oldest son who would be sixty in a few days.
She asked, "Do all your children live in Maryland?"
That is where our oldest lives, as well as our
third-born. In the discussion, my husband told her that
our second-born died last year. As far as we know, it
was blood clot of some sort. He stopped breathing! It
was sudden! Today’s verse reminds me of our son, David.
He was fifty-six.
As I am writing this,
I am reminded that this past week Michael Jackson died.
He was called "The King of Pop." From all the
reports, his death was from a prescription drug
over-dose. The morning of the day that he died, the
beautiful Farrah Fawcett died, too. She had valiantly
fought the cancer battle. The cancer won, as it often
does. Others died this week also. Their souls were
full of troubles. Their life drew to the grave.
I did not know Michael
Jackson or Farrah Fawcett. If I’d seen them on the
street, I would have recognized them; but I did not know
them personally. I did know David. He was born to me
when we lived in Dallas, Texas. I remember very well the
minute of his birth. I remember the beautiful baby that
God had given me. I knew David. I loved David. I miss
him.
To the observer, our
son had a different, difficult life; but it was his
life. He had experiences that many never had, or would
have. He had ups and downs. One thing he
always said to his father and me, "Don’t you dare say
that I am not born again and saved!" He knew Jesus
Christ at his Saviour. He felt that he would die soon. I
don’t know why he had that suspicion. He knew his body
better than I did. He knew he was failing. He seemed to
know that his life was drawing night unto the grave. So,
when God snuffed it out so unexpectedly, I, as his
mother, had the assurance that he knew Jesus Christ as
his Saviour. On his grave stone we carved, "BORN
AGAIN AND SAVED!" He would have liked that.
The Psalmist in Psalm
88:10 asks a question, "WILT THOU SHEW WONDERS TO THE
DEAD?" You and I have that same question. He goes on
with another question, "SHALL THE DEAD ARISE AND
PRAISE THEE?" How very human was the writer. He was
no different from you and me. I think of my son’s body
in the grave. I know that HE IS NOT THERE–-but I wonder,
"Shall the dead arise?’ I know what the Bible
says in I Thessalonians 4:16b: "and the dead in
Christ shall rise first." I must believe it! David
was "in Christ." So he will rise first!
"He will be caught up with Christ
first!"
The Bible says
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
TOGETHER with them (that would be with our son,
David, and other risen believers) in the clouds, to
meet the LORD in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord."
But what about the
others mentioned above? Were they "born again"? I don’t
really know, but I had observed their life styles. I
will not enumerate the things we who watched heard and
saw. There didn’t appear to be any evidence of "New
life in Christ." There may have been. I was not in
their hearts. All I know is that the question, "Where
will you spend eternity?" must be asked and answered
while a person’s heart is still beating.
In Psalm 89:47-48, we
are reminded how "short our time is." We are
asked, "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see
death?" Skip to Psalm 90:12, and agree with Moses
when he exhorts, "Teach us to number our days, that
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Seventy years
is a full life. If one lives to be in the eighties, ones
strength will turn to sorrow. When death comes, we are
cut off and fly away!! BE READY! (ysw)
"PRAYER"
(the disciples
said, "Teach us to pray.")
God is only a
prayer away from your burden now.
He is only a
prayer away from your longing,
Your sigh, your
tears, your problems, your heartaches
for your
children.
From our inward
rebellion.
***
The Bible is a
revelation,
an unveiling of
God in action in prayer.
The Scriptures
reveal that the great people of the Bible were praying
people.
(GGS)
