I thanked Him for teaching us the sorrow of death. For allowing us to have tears of great sorrow and mourning. For allowing us to experience loss. As I wept and prayed, I thanked Him for bringing us to the depth of conscious experience, the valley of anguish. It is here that we begin to understand value. Value is typically understood in the context of loss or gain. To understand the value of something, you must understand it’s worth, and to understand its worth, you must know variance relative to a certain mean.
That is what sin has taught us. It has taught us of loss and brokenness, of sorrow and mourning, of not having and not understanding. Because we have experienced these things, we are able to truly comprehend the value of gain and healing, of joy and peace, of having and knowing. It is in this variance that we are able to comprehend and appreciate true worth.
As I prayed this morning, I also thanked God for His promises to us of eternal life. Because I have experienced the loss of loved ones, I comprehend the great value of God’s promises to us of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, which means that all those who have died in Christ will see each other again. Because I have experienced sickness and because I have watched loved ones die of sickness, I comprehend the great value of God’s promise to those in Christ of our resurrection in new bodies that will never be sick and will never die.
Because I have despaired, I have been able to exercise hope. Because I have wept, I have been able to receive comfort. Because of sin, God has taught us His unfathomable mercy. Because we die, we are not only able to rejoice in God’s promises of new life, but we also are able to comprehend the devastating cost of sin. It is this gamut of human experience that God has used to teach us value. As odd as it may seem to us, God has used our sin to teach us not to sin— to teach us the true value of righteousness through the consequences of sin.
Oh Lord, how unsearchable is Your wisdom and unfathomable Your ways! May we truly tremble before You in Your utter sovereignty over the works of Your hands!
(1 Thess 4:13,14) Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
(Rom 11:32 ) For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone. O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
(Titus 2:11-13) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
(Phil 4:4-6) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
(Posted on Facebook 2/1/2021 Talitha Koum)
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