The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil (Isaiah 57:1, NIV).
As we ponder death, we must remember this verse. God is merciful. Many times we do not understand God’s plan or His timing, but this verse shows us that His plan is for our ultimate good.
We have no idea what our loved ones are being spared from by being taken home to be with the Lord. Life is full of hurts and pain; some pains are never recovered from. Every pain can find recovery in Christ, but there are times when people cannot find their way to that recovery. God may have been sparing your loved one from just such a pain.
We must especially remember the love that God has for us during these times. God is love; He is not hate, anger, or punishment. He has not taken your loved one away from you for vindictive or vile reasons. We can find comfort knowing that God is lovingly directing our lives even when we do not understand what He is doing.
This passing of our loved one is a painful time for us, but it is precious in God’s sight. It is a valuable, prized, and beloved time.
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints (Psalms 116:15, NIV).
The death of a child of God is precious in God’s sight. It is the time for God to be united with His child in eternity. What a wonderful union and time of rejoicing. The culmination of our life here on earth is the beginning of our eternal love story. The love of God envelops His child as He brings them home to spend eternity with Him. If only we could see what they are seeing now, we would long to be where they are rather than have them back where we are!
