The phone rang at church.
And it was a, a frantic,
hurting father,
with his wife
in the vehicle next to him,
flying down the road.
It was one of my members,
frantically asking me to have prayer,
prayer that morning.
It was right before church
because their son was in a
horrible car accident.
He was clinging to life
and they knew he was going to die.
And they're trying to get to him.
I asked him how fast he was driving.
He wouldn't tell me.
I said, "If God wants you to get there,
"and to hold your
"son's hand while he's still alive
"and say your good bye,
"he will let you even if you
"drive a safe speed.
"Please slow down."
God gave him that blessing of
saying good-bye
to his son.
After church, I went there,
joined him at the hospital.
And eventually his son,
just 24 years of age,
brilliant life,
joy, just joy pouring out of this guy,
and he died.
Very suddenly.
How do you deal with that?
How do you deal
when a death is sudden,
and it's harsh and it hits you?
If you're dealing with death
of a suicide,
go to our website,
go to yourtimeofgrace.org,
keyword search "suicide."
I put a devotion series out there on that.
It can give you extra peace.
But if you're dealing with death
because of an accident,
or disease or something that happens,
what do you do?
First of all,
get that person who's hurting or yourself
talking.
We have to get
the reality of what happened
into our minds.
Because suddenly we're in shock
and we, we stay there.
When we're at that hospital,
that father and mother,
as more family members came,
they told a story.
As friends of their son came,
they told a story.
And every time they talked,
they moved from shock
into reality.
And in reality, when our minds are clear,
we can hear then so much more.
The peace of what God's word
says to us about God's incredible love,
forgiveness and mercy.
Because God wants us to move
our perspective,
from loss
to thankfulness for what we had.
We see that with Job.
Job says that, in
chapter 1 of his book,
I worked in my counseling
with that husband and wife
to, to move them in that perspective
of thankfulness
for what God has given.
And I shared in the funeral
a story that comforted their heart.
And I want to give you this illustration
so that you can share it with someone else.
At that funeral,
I talked about another funeral that happened.
A pastor
with a child that was 8 years old
that died.
And that pastor looked at the parents
and said, "If God had come to you,
"before this child was born, and told you,
"you can have a child, a son
"and you're going to love him
"and he's going to be the light of your life.
"But you're only going to have him for
"eight years,
"would you have said 'No?'
"Or would you have wanted that child?"
And all of a sudden the parents realized that
eight years was a gift,
it was a blessing from God.
And then he turned to the older brother
of the 8-year-old that died
and said, "If God had come to you
"and said that you can have
"a younger brother but he's
"only going to be here eight years,
"you're going to play, you're going to have fun.
But then he's going to go home to Jesus
"and you'll see him soon one day,
"would you have said 'No' or would you
"have wanted that brother?"
And the brother knew that that was a gift,
those eight years
were a gift from God.
And he turned to the grandparents
and aunts and uncles and
everyone that was there and said the
same thing individually
to each one of them and they all
came to that perspective
that that eight years was a gift.
And then I looked at that husband and wife
in front of me and I said, "If God had come to you,
"24 years ago,
"and said,
"You can have a son.
"You're blessed with a gift of a son
"but you'll have him for,
"for 24 years.
"Lots of joy. Lots of blessings.
"Would you have said 'No.'?"
And they said,
"We wanted him.
"Thank God for that blessing."
Their perspective changed.
And I looked at his other two brothers
and said, "If God came to you and
asked you would you want this
brother but just for 24 years,
would you have wanted him?"
They said, "Yes.
"How gracious, how good, how blessed,
how giving our God is."
I looked at his fiance,
and said,
"Would you
"have said 'no' to God
"if you would know what true love is
"and have it for just a time with
"this incredible man?"
And she said, "Yes,
what a gift God has given."
God gives gifts.
But we're here
for a time.
But God gives the greatest gift,
the gift of Christ.
The gift of his forgiveness.
And for all
who believe in him,
for all who trust in him,
that sudden death
brings life.
Life in heaven.
A reunion is waiting for you.
Thank God,
change your perspective,
thank God
for the blessing of the time
that he gave,
and the blessing
of heaven
waiting for you.