A
few days ago I had a dear friend who passed away. I am sad that I will not be able to see her
again on earth yet rejoice that one day we will be reunited in heaven.
I
met Deb, my friend, 10 years ago when she walked into a Bible study we were
doing called “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat,”
by John Ortberg. Well, Deb got out of
the boat and never stopped walking on water in her faith until she reached her
savior Jesus’ arms in heaven. One of the
first questions she asked me was “Do you think this Jesus thing really
works?” She said she went to church and
knew that Jesus was her savior, but didn’t really see where that was working
for her. Sure she may have had some fire
insurance not to go to hell, but where was peace in the midst of chaos, joy in
the midst of pain, and strength in our weakest moments. She was hungry and desperate for real
change. I told her Jesus was the only
way and the way we see a difference is when we seek Him with our whole
hearts. One of the ways we do that I
told her was through Bible study. She
agreed to join us and for the next 10 years she never stopped learning. It was
a beautiful thing to watch as her faith grew and her peace intensified. Once she found comfort and real life in
personally knowing Jesus and what He had for her, she was on a mission that her
family and friends would know the truth about Him too.
When
I went to her home to prepare to speak at her funeral, I found not one Bible
but many written in and all sorts of devotionals and scriptures
everywhere. In fact there was something
about Jesus in every room of her home. I
knew if she had something to say to us, it would be in her Bible. Because she had leukemia, I thought I would
find a ton of scriptures on healing, but that’s not what I found. Instead, everywhere I looked she was claiming
the promises that her family and friends would know Jesus. In typical Deb fashion, life was not about
her, but her love for others.
In
the back of her Bible I found a letter she had written to her family that was
so comforting to all of us. In Deb’s
words:
“These last few years I have lived my
life as a believer—walking daily with God—what peace that has brought—what
miracles I have witnessed, prayers that have been answered, giving my life to
God and knowing that He is in control—how secure I am—no more concern for
material things of this world—what peace there is in that.
I
pray for you daily and even though you may not see it—God is drawing you to
Him—follow His will—find peace—true love, joy, happiness.”
You
will find all of these things as well when you seek Him with your whole heart.
God is faithful and true to His promises and will do it not only for you but
also for your family. Won’t you trust Him today and give Him complete control
of your life?
