Over the past few weeks, my family has been aware of and involved in the lives of a family that we didn’t know very well. But God led us to love and serve the Prairie family at a time when the the dad and husband, Joel, was in the late stages of a battle against cancer.
Talk about learning lessons on the fragility and temporality of life! And as if life came to a climax in teaching us these lessons, another family who we count as both friends and co-workers here at NTBI just found out that the husband and father has a very rare form of cancer as well that could claim his life life soon.
Needless to say, I was only an outside observer at best as this news unfolds and yet I still had a heavy day emotionally as I grieved with these families. But God who is life’s author encouraged me. His Word makes clear His love for His adopted children, His grace and peace for those who can often only watch and His destination for those who accept His gift of life.
A simply penned but powerful in this moment song was sung at my fellowship this morning; ‘God is Able.’ It speaks of God’s exclusive ability to defeat death which He does and will do in the lives of all believers!
God’s timing is His own and unknown to me, three hours before we sang that song this morning, Joel Prairie passed from death into life! The truth in that song had already been proven by the time we sang it!
Paul encouraged the early church with these words; “let us not grieve as those who have no hope!”
If you’d like to listen to the song, ‘God is Able’ click this link.