Prayer requests

Death is never an easy thing to handle.

It's not something we enjoy contemplating, usually. We don't often talk about it, either.

It's an uncomfortable subject for many, but for those of us who trust in the Lord, it doesn't need to be.

I like this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

"Depend upon it, your dying hour will be the best hour you have ever known! Your last moment will be your richest moment, better than the day of your birth will be the day of your death." Charles H. Spurgeon

God knows how frail we are. Psalm 103 confirms that "He is mindful that we are but dust." David was courageous when he said to the Lord:

 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (Psalm 39:4-5)

Job was another who realized the brevity of his life, when he said, "I will not live forever....for my days are but a breath." (Job 7:16) And James compared our lives to vapor which appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Leaving this world is inevitable. Where we spend eternity is optional. God loves us and sent His Son into the world so that He could provide eternal life for us.

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. 

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

So, then, are we to say we are not happy here? We want to leave this world as soon as possible? 
I don't think so. I believe that God wants us to live life to the fullest and to serve Him joyfully for as long as we have life. We should not be morbid, but simply realize that we are expendable. We should have the outlook that if God were to call us to heaven, that will suit us just fine, because we know we will be with the Lord!

Some of you know from our correspondence that my mother, age 86, was moved, earlier in July, into hospice care because of her terminal cancer. The distance (2,000 miles across the country) and the times (this is the year of Covid-19) made it impossible for me to see her in person before her homegoing. 

I was grateful and honored that some of you were able to join me in praying for peace and joy for her as she awaited the trip home to her Savior. She died barely a week after entering hospice care.

Truly believers can rejoice when a loved one goes home. Even as we grieve for the absence from us here on earth, we can anticipate their joyful arrival in heaven, and we can hope to see them again when we go to heaven, ourselves!

If you have a prayer request or praise, I hope you will leave a comment for us.