Scripture for Today: I Thes. 4:13 “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”

I do not like to say goodbye.  I am sad to think that on this earth I will not see Lily again.  Ten years ago she passed on to me the leadership of her Bible study group.  As each member is roughly the same age, I am losing these dear women one by one.  Each year our numbers shrink and we must say goodbye.  Yes, I grieve but I grieve with hope.

The verse for today is beautiful as it reminds us of our hope.  Saying goodbye between believers is never forever.  The separation is painful and hard but there is a tomorrow.  Death has been swallowed up in victory!  Death is just a passage where the perishable is clothed with imperishable and the mortal with immortality! (I Cor. 15:53-54)  One day there will be an incredible reunion of laughing and singing and dancing!  The sting of death will be forever removed.  This is my sure hope.  It makes our temporary separation bearable.

“When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart and hope to meet again.”  And that hope is not just wishful thinking!  Hope in Scripture has a much stronger meaning of certainty.  My hope is built on Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me.  It is on that cross that He insured eternal life for those who place their trust in Him.  It is this hope that changes my grief.

Thank you Lord, that grief does not crush me.  Thank you Lord, that Your hope is my comfort.

Scripture for Today:  Job 8:11-13 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?  Can reeds thrive where there is no water?  While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.  Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.”

The papyrus reed had an important place in ancient cultures.  It was used to make a primitive form of paper.  Papyrus was used as early as 4000BC for writing.  Wherever the soil was damp, this reed could grow.  However, when the rains did not come, the soil would dry up and the reed would quickly die.  Without that water-soaked soil, the papyrus reed could not continue to thrive.

Our verse for today is spoken to Job by his friend, Bildad.  Job is experiencing acute suffering and he and his three friends are trying to understand the reason for it.  Bildad suggests that Job’s pain is the result of sin in his life.  That conclusion was incorrect, but Bildad’s description of the destiny of the godless is repeated throughout Scripture.  Those without the Lord have a hope that perishes.  It will not last as it is a flimsy hope without the Source of life-giving water.  The wicked thrive for a time, but forgetting God means their hope will perish with them.

Those who place their faith in Christ have a living hope that does not perish!  Unlike the wicked who forget God, believers do not rely on themselves, their riches or their own devises.  It is on Him and on Him only that we have set our hope! (II Cor. 1:9-10)

My hope will never perish because He has given me a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! (I Peter 1:3)  I could not live without hope, and praise God, I do not have to!