Ps. 6 — Death
Death.
No breath.
The grave.
I can’t understand people who think it is senseless to live. Senseless to die, yes. Death is so final and causes pain for those left behind. Even though I believe in an afterlife, and know I’m going to a far better place, I don’t want to prematurely trade this limited time on earth for what will eventually be an unending eternity in heaven.
If Thou shouldst justly take away my breath,
There’s no memorial to Thee in death;
And in the grave
Who is there who can thank Thee for Thy love,
Or sing a psalm to show the hosts above
Thy grace to save?Psalm 6:6 from Psalm Poems by Thomas M. Seller
Used by permission.
Seven years ago God took away breath from my 21 year old nephew. It didn’t seem fair. He was an intelligent, clean-cut, respectful youth with a bright future. Surely he could have done so much more good here on earth than he was given time to do. Like the psalm-poem above says, we can’t even sing or show thanks to God from the grave.
I don’t know why he had to die. No one does, except God. Well-meaning people have tried to explain it, but there is no satisfactory explanation. Bits and pieces of good have come from this tragedy, but we would trade them all in to have him back again. And yet…
…there is a ray of hope. We know we will see him again. We are confident God doesn’t make mistakes. We believe He works out all things for our eventual good and His glory. In the blip of time called Life, this young man did what was necessary to prepare for the endless eons of Life in eternity. That was enough to make his life count.
Lord, you know our days before we are even born. Thank you for the 21 years we had with our nephew. Thank you that he is rejoicing in seeing you face-to-face. Remind us to keep eternity in mind because it gives so much perspective to everyday living.
What about you? Are you grieving the loss of a loved one? Do you dread the unavoidable day when you’ll be laid in the grave? Perhaps information on this site will help. http://www.needhim.org
God's Song 
Thank you, Sandy, for that reminder of the face-to-face eternal life he is experiencing right now. I am the mom of that beautiful son. Hope springs forth when I am reminded of his salvation. Thanks too, for reminding me that I need to concentrate on the living NOW, at times the sadness encompasses any joy. Life is short. Eternity is forever.
Before you know it you’ll be together again. In the meantime, the Psalms are full of comforting words, like 34:18 that says God is close to the brokenhearted. May you experience God’s nearness today.