LENTEN DEVOTIONAL - Day 26

He Shall Wipe Our Tears

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”- Revelation 21:4

                  In heaven, Revelation 21:4 tells us, there will be no dying, sadness, tears or pain. This side of heaven there are times when it seems like that is all we experience in this life … nothing but pain and sadness; hardship and trials. If you expected life to be easy once you received Christ, then you must have found a passage of scripture that I am unfamiliar with.  The plain and simple fact of the matter is that everything will not always go our way. 

When a loved one is seriously ill, as believers we pray earnestly for healing. We don’t want to let them go. We want them to rise up off their sick bed and resume their lives. Having them pass on is too much for us to bear, so we clench our hands together until our knuckles turn white beseeching God to please have mercy … do the miraculous and heal their bodies. The thing we must realize is that the miracle we are praying for has been accomplished if and when our beloved friend or family member passed on to heaven, because even though it has not taken place the way we wanted it to, they will never, ever experience sickness or pain again. Their passage into heaven has secured their healing; they are again whole. We need to accept that God has a greater plan and that we may not always understand that plan. That’s where our faith and trust system has to kick in. We must trust that God knows exactly what He is doing when He brings our friends and loved ones to be with Him for all eternity. 

                  We should also take heart that the tears we shed during this life will someday be wiped away by our Lord when we are promoted to glory.  No one escapes pain and disappointment in this life. We suffer loss and cry over those things that sadden us. It’s unavoidable, but we can learn from these experiences. The lesson learned is not to become hard and unfeeling in the face of such circumstances, but rather to become resilient; an example of compassion and grace to others experiencing the same type of circumstances. Allow God to heal our hearts and spirits so that we might be a blessing to those around us. Of course, there is always a time of mourning for a loss, but doing it with the grace of God can be a blessing to ourselves and to everyone we meet each day. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!