Sin has come into this world and we suffer the unfairness of it all. It has plagued humanity and the Creation as a whole. As you can see in the following verse:

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Even though the consequence of sin is death, Jesus took the penalty upon Him and saved us from the second death (spiritual) which is eternal separation from God. Through Him we have victory over death. This is why Paul writes that death loses its sting. We can focus on the life that God has brought to us through His son.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God works everything for our good.

Death is horrible, but God in His sovereignty uses everything that we go through in life for our good as you can see in the following verse:

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

The understanding of this verse is a very difficult concept for our human limited minds to fully grasp. It took me a long time (and many hardships) to become fully aware of and embrace its deep meaning. Now, not only do I understand it, but I also hold this Bible verse as a fundamental truth that grounds me.

The time we have on this planet is so small in comparison to eternity. When I see soap bubbles, it reminds me of how God must see the time that we have here. So small and fleeting…
I will write more on how God`s sovereignty works out all things for our good in another post.
Right now I want to focus on solving the feeling of guilt that may come over us when we lose a loved one.

This feeling of guilt stems from the lie that we could have done something to save him or her. That maybe if we did this or that.. they would not have died. Unless we have directly caused the death, there is no reason to feel guilty. Of course there are deaths that have been caused by other peoples` indifference, stupidity or simply evil intentional murder. In these cases, the people who caused the death are responsible for their actions and guilty before men and before God.However, if we have not killed the person, then guilt should not enter our hearts.

Our time on this Earth is already determined.


We all have a certain time to live on this planet and a time to die. This is not determined by us or by other people.. rather the Infinite Creator is in control of the ultimate outcome.
Here are some verses in Scripture that prove this fact:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.

Job 14:5
Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

Psalm 31:15
My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw my unformed body; All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

We can`t add a single hour to our lives.

Also, when teaching about worry, Jesus mentioned that no amount of worrying would add a single hour to our lives.

Matthew 6:27
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

The premise of his entire teaching was that God was in control of all things. So you see the time we have is in God`s hands.

Jesus knew that his time of death was determined by God the Father.

Also when the pharisees were trying to kill Jesus.. He hid from them because he knew it was not yet his time to die. Here are the verses that prove this:

Matthew 12:14-15
But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all…

John 7:1
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.

He knew that His time had not yet come.

John 7:30
At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

John 8:20
He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.

What but when His hour did come, He did not hide from the Pharisees.

John 13:1
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

John 17:1
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”

Christ lived to do the Father`s will.

Matthew 26:39
O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will.

He told Peter to put away his sword because no one was taking His life… He was willfully giving it away .. That it was God`s will for Him to die at that time. He could ask God to send angels to save Him if He wanted to (but that was not God`s will).

Matthew 26:52-53
Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

What we can take from all of this is that we can rest in our Father`s arms. We can hold onto Him and base our lives on His truth.
When we understand and trust God.. peace comes into our hearts. Peace that nothing in this world can compare to. Knowing that God is good and just and that the time that our loved one died was the best time for him or her is essential for us to heal.
The only way to have unshakeable everlasting peace is to completely surrender to God`s will. This is essential in order to develop a relationship with God.
Many people have experienced near death experiences and have said that heaven is just so wonderful that they don`t even remember pain or fear. They have said that it is too wonderful for words.
And Scripture also tells us that what God has in store for those who love God is so great that no mind can conceive it.

1 Corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him

When things look dire on Earth we need to dream about heaven… Focus on the Eternal where there will be no more tears.

Revelation 21:2-4
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God … And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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.”

I would like to finish this post with divinely inspired music by Paul Stoke to help you heal. I have put two videos below. The first song is for you to calm down.
The second song reminds me of how God gives us wings to fly above our problems. I envisioned myself flying above the clouds with His angels when I first saw it.
When listening.. Say a prayer to God.. ask the Holy Spirit to come over you… help you… and be with you through this difficult time. Get close to God and He will fill you with His Presence. He loves you sooo much and wants to hold you in His arms through every step of your recovery from grief.
I can assure you that this pain will pass. I have gone through it and now I am healed. You can be healed too.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Blessings always ღ

Eren Mckay

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Survivor’s guilt is a post from: Embracing Jesus

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

In fact we can’t even know what we are supposed to do in this life if we don’t go to Him and find out.

We need God.

The world tells us that we should be independent. The truth is that there really is no such thing. We are not independent. We are not able to solve all of our problems on our own. We can’t carry the weight of the world on our shoulders; in fact we can’t even carry our own selves.
And you know something: God tells us that we weren’t created to do so. He created us to be dependent on Him. The moment that we begin to rely on our own rationale, our own strength, and on our own capacity we are stepping out from His perfect plan to hold us in His hands and guide us. Some people even have spiritual pride and trust their religious rituals to save them. We must depend on God to direct us and to tell us what we are supposed to do next.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Many people rely on self help books… the biggest problem is that self help is just that: relying on your own limited self to solve your problems. It’s much better to admit that we are human beings limited in understanding, limited in resources. At the same time we should recognize that we have a God that is all knowing, all powerful and willing to provide the answers to us if only we will seek Him. If we are trusting God, then we can be sure to do great things because He is behind it all.

We discover great peace when we rest in Him.

The sooner you start to rely on the Lord to lead your life, the sooner you will be able to rest in Him. Resting in Him doesn’t mean that you will be lazy, slothful, stop working or even stop using the brain that God gave you to solve things. It means that you don’t trust in those things as the main solution. You don’t base your safety on temporary circumstances or on anything in this world. Trusting on things that can fall also leads to problems with anxiety. If you suffer from that, this article on how to get rid of anxiety through God will help you.
If you do many things but God isn’t in them, they can all be destroyed in a heartbeat. This is the essence of the message of the following verse:

Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman remains awake but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2

You need to be seeking the Creator, the Provider, the Source of all things for guidance. When He tells you what to do, then your role is to simply obey. As Charles Stanley always says: Obey God and leave the consequences up to Him. There is tremendous rest for your soul when you do that.

Do you ever feel like your life is a bit empty or meaningless?

Do you ever feel like there is a deep hole in your soul? Well the reason it’s there is because your spirit is not aligned to your Creator. When you are in agreement with God and living for Him at all moments, then His Spirit will flow in you and fill that hole.

His Holy Spirit will also flow through you to influence other peoples’ lives. He needs to be the main reason for your life. He needs to be number one and the center of all of your being. Put Him first. Seek the Lord. Center your life on God and everything else will fall into place.

How do you center your life on God?

By spending time in developing your relationship with Him.The best way to approach God is with an open heart to establish this deep bond. Every relationship requires that you spend time with the person.

Prayer

There’s a difference between saying we know God and actually knowing Him deeply. How much time do you spend praying each day? Do you talk to the Lord throughout your day? There are ways in which to get closer to God like meditating on His attributes and spending time in prayer. Listen and get to know Him. One of the things that might help you is knowing how to make a prayer journal to keep track of answered prayers and see the Lord working in your life.

The Word

Do you ever ask God to just speak to your heart through His Word? He renews our minds and strengthens our spirits when we read His Word. Here is a post that will help you learn how to understand the Bible better.

Praise and Worship

Spend time simply praising and telling Him that He is your everything. Praise and worship is a sure way for you to experience the practice of the presence of God in your daily life.

Let everything be guided by the right motivation.

If your number one goal in life is to please the Lord, then whatever you do will honor Him. All things in your life, even the difficult parts, will work together for His glory. Our role is to simply make sure that our hearts are in the right place.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

We need to work each day for His glory and for the furthering of His Kingdom in our own lives and towards the people that we touch. When we yearn for Him, He tells us His goals for our lives. His Presence flows and gives us joy. He inspires us to fulfill His will.

What about you? What has been your experience with the Lord?
Please share with us in the comment section below:

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The difference between religion and relationship with God is a post from: Embracing Jesus