Death… It’s a hard thing to swallow. It’s such a final thing.
And when you lose someone, even if you have full assurance that they’re in Heaven walking with the creator of the universe, it’s still difficult to accept. We had an experience yesterday with this very subject. I’m still in processing mode, but I’m growing accustomed to looking beyond the surface details and seeing what God is trying to say through situations rather than focusing only on what I can see with my eyes…so here’s that experience…
We walked up a hill unaware of where exactly we were going but trusting that God was leading us to the funeral of a woman who had passed away from cancer the previous day. We walked in silence, in prayer, praying for God’s power and leading in something foreign to all of us besides what we’ve read in the accounts of Jesus raising people from the dead.
At that moment, had you questioned me about my faith in raising someone from the dead, I would have pointed you to God and said “anything is possible for him who believes.” I have no idea where the faith came from, but it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I walked up that hill, layed my hand on Marisol’s leg and prayed 
…and prayed
…and prayed
…and prayed some more.
She didn’t wake up but I didn’t leave discouraged. Even after we left, it was as if she would eventually sit up, hug her children and run down that hill to greet us and tell us of God’s glory.
Death is final. But God beat death, Hell and the grave. Marisol lays in a casket at this moment. That may continue to be final, but she walks with Jesus at this very moment and that is final. My sin was enough for the grave. But Jesus died…and rose…and that is final!
He has the power! Sometimes it’s not what we’d like to see, but God’s thoughts are also not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. I laid my hand on a dead woman and expected life to enter her lungs. It didn’t. That also doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. But she’s living eternally with her creator and I can’t ask for anything better than that. Who am I to question God’s power and majesty?
