Today, Elaine and I will be heading out to our high school reunion. The committee which has put this together is calling it the BHS Class of 1970 50th Reunion ‘The Lost Year’! As you can tell, we had to postpone the reunion and we lost a year. We are looking forward to seeing people we have not seen in a while. It will be an interesting time as we think back to a time when we were all younger and had more hair. There is also going to be a time set aside when we remember those of our class who have passed away over the years.
Earlier this week, I attended a funeral for a dear friend and member of a foundation to which I am a part. Bill was a wonderful friend, devoted husband and father. A soul winner for the Lord and a big part of the success the foundation has had over the years to be able to assist churches in the Tampa Bay Baptist Association. As I spoke to friends and family, I was struck by the impact he had on so many. Then as I sat in the service and listened to the testimonies of his family, I was struck by how important his life was to so many. As the Pastor shared the message and stories of Bill, I was caught in the thoughts of life. About how precious, a daily proposition and temporary a life is no matter how long one lives.
The night he passed, we knew it was a very tenuous time as he had been progressing but then he had a set back that caused great concern. I was up and down all night praying. My prayer was for a miraculous healing. That God would be glorified as He healed a child of the King. Thus, allowing God to be continually known as the God that healed Bill. That then Bill would go forward in life as a testimony to others of God and His faithfulness. Elaine reminded me of something that was said in the service when Tony Evans wife went home to be with the Lord. Her son said that we prayed she would be healed. She was going to be healed. She was going to be healed either here or there.
That same night an email came in right after Elaine and I had gone to bed. The email was clear that Bill would not make it, but that his life would live on in other’s. He was an organ donor and it has been acknowledged that there were 4 people who received organs from Bill and thus life.
As I write this, I have just returned from a Pastors Prayer group I lead each month. Our focus verse that the Lord led me to for today was from Psalms 28:1-2 NLT “I pray to you, O Lord, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die. Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.”
While in that time of prayer today the verse reminded me that even though God did not answer my prayer my way. He indeed answered, as I know He always does, His way. His will was done and the life that Bill had here is now in Heaven. His witness and his body have given life to others both here on this earth and in Heaven.
You don’t know when your life will end here. Only God knows that and He has given you a Savior in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul said in Romans 10:9-10 “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
If you know Him, then I’ll see you one day in Heaven. If you don’t then ask the Holy Spirit of God to take the words of Paul and make them real to you today. Let me close by saying if you need someone to talk with about the decision you make then use the Contact Us on the website today.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy