We FINALLY did it. We headed back to school after a LOOOOOOONG "Spring Break". It has felt like an eternity. Our staff was thrilled to be back in the building and anticipating our students' return.
Our kids came on Monday and it has been a blissful, happy, exciting, exhausting, frustrating, hard (enter all the adjectives) week. But every minute has been worth it!
In thinking about staff devotions and what message God had for us this year, I felt HIM whisper that we all needed a reminder of HIM. There is so much going on emotionally, physically, politically and also just so much anger and meanness on social media. It seems that we need to look at our God, get in THE Word and remind ourselves of who HE is.
Due to circumstances, it seemed fitting to start with
THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.
A few years ago, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, that was added to a heart condition, epilepsy, chronic back pain, 2 hip replacement surgeries, etc. She went through chemo and radiation, 2 surgeries and was finally placed on the Survivor's List. We thank God every day that through every one of those circumstances, HE chose to let us keep her.
Many years ago, when I was working in student ministry at a former church, one of our students deveopled a brain tumor and passed away at 16 years old.
When we experience situations like these our first thoughts are normally......Why?
Why has God allowed my sister to live on this earth for so long, with so many health issues, yet still live a long beautiful life with her husband and kids?
Why did God choose to take J when he was so young and had his whole life ahead of him?
How do we make any sense about situations like these?
We could drive ourselves crazy with the whys and trying to figure it all out, but the reality is that there is no way to fully know until we are HOME.
1 Samuel 2:6 says.....
The LORD gives both death and life;
HE brings some down to the grave
but raises others up.
Now I know this verse doesn't tell us why. But, it does tell us who to put our faith in.
This verse tells me that God alone is the author of life and death. It tells me that God gives us all life, HE heals us when we are sick and HE also allows physical death.
The first lesson I teach our kids in Bible Study is that God is Creator and King.
God created all of us (and everything) and HE can do whatever HE wants to with all of us. I don't believe that means HE is up there like a puppeteer making us jump. But let's never doubt who is "holding the strings". HE is in charge, HE is the author of life and death. HE knows all things past, present and future. HE knows when our time on earth is done. HE decides when it is our time to die.
I think part of our problem with this is that we think that dying is losing. When someone we love dies, we think that God didn't come through for us, when actually the total opposite is true. Death for Christians is the ultimate healing. It's eternal life with HIM. It is heaven.
So what does all of this have to do with
going back to school???
We have so many plans in place to try to
keep our kids healthy.......
We are cleaning
spraying
wiping
washing hands
sanitizing
wearing masks
wearing shields
putting up platic barriers
not sharing supplies
keeping our distance
cleaning
spraying
wiping
on and on and on and on.....
but the truth is.....
our kids are going to get sick, our teachers are going to get sick (maybe not with Covid, but a hundred other things) it's just the nature of people getting together and it's the nature of life on this planet.
I don't want us to get caught up in thinking that we are in any way in control of all that will happen. We can do our very best, we will be diligent and careful, we will do the natural, but let's not forget that God is supernatural and
HE will also do HIS part.
Sickness will come to some,
healing will come to most,
death will come to some
(and eventually to all).
Take comfort in the fact that HE is ultimately in control.
HE is still in the healing business.
HE has not surrendered the throne.
HE is still working for our good and HIS glory.
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