No matter what happens to us in this lifetime, Jesus Christ is always worth following.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

I had this dream tonight that I survived a major catastrophic tornado and a devastating fire. I remember the emotions of listening to the deafening freight train as the winds began lifting up the roof of the structure I was occupying. When the storms finally passed over and calm returned, I went up the stairs and exited the now destroyed structured I was in and surveyed the devastating results of this storm. As I took in this panoramic 360 scene I heard multiple ambulances, police and fire trucks heading toward the scene of the mayhem. The little voice from within told me to pray for those in this storm, As I listened I heard voices of people who were still trapped inside their homes, unable to get out. I looked at the home I once occupied and could see that it was leveled and beyond repair. I head a mom cry out in the darkness, " my baby, where is my baby?" I heard a grief-stricken father cry out "why God did you allow this to happen?"

So many people when tragedy strikes are quick to curse God and walk away from Him. For some, they cannot readily accept the idea that a 'good, good God would take their loved ones away from them. They seem to accept this 'prosperity gospel that says if I do A plus B equals C that God will pour out his blessings from the heavens above and bad things will never happen to us in life. We are reminded by these words in Romans 8:18 'I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.' If there is one thing I learned as I read the bible it is that God's promises that no matter what happens to us He will be there in the aftermath of our personal tragedies to help us recover from our pain.

I remember our family celebrating our son's golden birthday just 2 months after our loss. It was a day of 'mixed' emotions of wanting to be happy and joyful, but also being filled with sadness that our loved one couldn't be there to participate in the celebration. As we watched our son and several friends enjoying the indoor waterpark we were reading a book on grief survival.

As I looked back, I see, not the tragedies, not the loss of life, but I see Jesus walking beside and uniquely showing evidence that He walking with you. You may not see this through your tears and your anguished cries, but He is there. In John 3:16 are the words 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God is no stranger to suffering for He sacrificed his son so that you may experience eternal life.

If there is one thing I've learned through tragedy, it is that heaven is very real and it will be a place where there will be no more suffering, no more pain, no more anguish cries. In fact, it will be a place where there will be far more celebrations with our loved ones than we ever had in this temporary place called earth.

So, you see, God's promises are true because he does make all things new.