'Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for
the LORD'Psalm 27:14
None of us like waiting. We have been trained to expect things immediately. Fast food restaurants, drive up tellers, Red box movies, Netflix instant downloads all encourage us to want things immediately. If that wasn't enough we have automatic deposit of our payroll checks and automatic bill payment. The latter is the one I least like because it reminds me that the pay day I just earned is quickly absorbed by my creditors.
When grief hits us like a brick wall we fall to the emotional upheavals that grief gives us. Where once we were laughing and enjoying life a sudden loss of a loved one will spiral us down a cascading cliff of emotional despair with no end in sight. We want so much to return to the way life once was before our loss not realizing that there is a grief process we must travel before we can once again feel normal again. We try to avoid the grieving process by focusing on busyness or even seeking revenge. We soon learn that the longer we focus on these unhealthy things our body's immune system breaks down whereby we become vulnerable to illnesses.
Pastor Greg Laurie shares his story about the tragic loss of his adult son and the pain he went through just a few days before he gave this message. He shares about meeting with newly bereaved families and burying children he knew personally in his congregation, but it wasn't until he got the word that his son died in a tragic accident on a busy California freeway that he understood the pain of losing a child.
Our family had our own Pastor Greg who was there the night that Maria passed away. Our Pastor Greg is the children's pastor at the church we attend. .The night my wife called the church she would learn that pastor Greg had just returned from a trip and just so happened to be the on call pastor that night. He knew our daughter and son d the best and he was the recipient of Maria's side hugs before our family headed out to the car after church. I new that it wasn't coincidental that Pastor Greg picked up the phone that night. God knew what we needed and he sent us the best servant to minister to our family during that devastating time.
Pastor Greg has witnessed first hand the powerful impact of grief on each of the members of our family and he demonstrated the love of Christ through his on going prayers for us. he was there when the police chaplain came out and said the EMT did all he could to try to revive Maria, but there was nothing they could do to bring her back..Pastor Greg reminded each of us that Maria was in the presence of the Lord Jesus and the body we were looking at was merely her shell.
God had used his experience and background to minister to not only our family, but other families at church going through difficult times. It has been Spiritual mentors like Pastor Greg that helped us to wait upon the lord.
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