Yet Will I Praise Him!

Yet Will I Praise Him!

Psalm 46

Grief is greatest when love abounds. Is it any wonder that so many hearts all across our city and far beyond have been shattered with the loss of our precious sister Jill? Is it any wonder that we ache when we think about the struggle that our brother Jason is still fighting? Is it any wonder that tears well up in our eyes when we think about the future loss that Abby will feel each time she yearns for her mother and realizes that she is gone? Is it any wonder that we feel like we have lost our best friend? Is it any wonder that you young people feel like you have lost someone who truly loved you, someone who did more than tell you about Jesus’ love – someone who showed you His awesome love.

Our loss is huge, our hearts are shattered, but our God will see us through. We have lost our friend, but we have not lost our hope. Jason and Abby’s world, and all of us that love them so much, have had their worlds shattered, but God is our Rock! Our frailty and mortality have been exposed, but God is our hiding place. Our hearts have been battered by this terrible storm, but God is our shelter.

I know that for some of you those words sound so trite, like so many Christian clichés, but those of you who know Jason and those who love Jill, you know that is what they believe – that is what they lived every moment of every day. It was just two weeks ago that Jason and Jill led our worship service for the first time since they had been with us in Oklahoma City. Think of the topics they could have shared with us. If you had one opportunity to speak about God in front of a couple of hundred folks, what would you talk about? What Scripture would you share? How about grace? No, no, how about salvation? Or maybe forgiveness? Those are huge, important subjects that we can never hear about too often, but Jason and Jill didn’t teach us about those topics. Out of all the topics that they could have chosen to have us focus on what did they choose? I know you remember – “When you can’t see God’s hand, you can trust His heart.” You can trust His heart my friend.

Jason and Jill’s prayer that Sunday was that we might have our eyes opened to the security we can possess by trusting in the Sovereignty of God. Their desire was that we would know that our God is absolutely in control of every detail of our lives, even the darkest moments, and that He works all things in our lives for His glory and our good. Even when we can’t logically come to the conclusion that what is happening is good; our faith in God’s Sovereign power gives us the firm hope that we can trust His heart.

If you will remember Jill sang the most beautiful song that morning. A song called, “I Can See.” Let me refresh your memory.

I Can See

All at once He walked beside me

Like He had been there all along

Not a stranger, but a Father

Who could sense when something’s wrong

He answered all of my questions

And He understood all of my fears

That somehow vanquished now that He was here

Can’t you see who walks with you

Can’t you hear who speaks your name

Can’t you feel something stirring in your heart

How His words rang strong and true

Like a once familiar strain

Could the paths we follow from now on be the same

I couldn’t bear for Him to leave me

So I begged Him to stay

Spend the evening, a few moments

Before He went His way

Then like a host He stood and blessed me

Broke the bread and poured the wine

And there was something I knew I recognized

Yes, I can see who walks with me

I can see who speaks my name

And I can feel something stirring in my heart

How His words ring strong and true

Like a once familiar strain

And I know that I’ll never be the same

I can see

And from that moment in time

I felt the emptiness subside

And all the glory of His power shining through

And for the first time in my life

I really looked into His eyes and saw eternity

And suddenly I knew

Yes, I can see

Yes, I can see who walks with me

I can see who speaks my name

And I can feel something stirring in my heart

How His words ring strong and true

Like a once familiar strain