We attended the funeral of a very much loved wife, mother, grandmother and friend the other day  who  seemed to have been taken far too soon. It was an extremely large funeral service, one that paid many tributes to our friend and to her faith in her God. Once again, it impressed itself on me the brevity and uncertainty of life, and I wondered how many of those who were present were ready to take this, their last trip from this earth.

The overall message from the Lord to several members of that family was that verse that says…”You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You”, and that is what makes all the difference. If our mind is stayed (or steadfast) on the God of our salvation, we have nothing to fear, but if we don’t know Him, the best that we can face is an uncertain hope.

When an untimely death like this occurs, we can know with certainty that it is God’s doing, not man’s. It is a clean break that can heal in time, giving the opportunity for a fresh new start in another direction. What a difference to a messy break in a family that is caused by man’s interference!

Yes, the sorrow is still there, and the gap is still as great, but it is like a pot of  boiling water that has a potato and an egg in the shell put into it. The boiling water makes the egg go hard, while the same boiling water makes the potato go soft! When the boiling water of serious trouble strikes us, which are we going to be…the egg or the potato? Let’s remember that picture and turn to the God of all comfort, softening to His will and moving on.