Ps. 116-118
“What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?” (Ps 116:12). God hears us; He is our help and our salvation. He has dealt bountifully with us. There is no way I could ever repay Him for all that He has done for me. God answers us; He is our help and our salvation. “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Ps 118:6). There is no end to God’s goodness. Psalm 117 is a great one to commit to memory. Say it when something really good happens; acknowledge God’s blessing! Say it when something bad happens; acknowledge God’s care! “Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!” (Ps 117).
1 Thess. 4
In the last few verses of this chapter, Paul talks about our eventual reunion with Christ, both for those who have already passed and for those who remain. It seems simple enough – Christ returns, calls up the believers who have died, then gathers together those who remain alive. But I think people tend to get lost in over analyzing all of this. Besides the fact that Christ is coming back for us, to me, there are really only two things that matter in all of it.
First is that Paul mentions all of this so that they (and we) “may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (1 Thess 4:13b). I do not know what the common beliefs about the dead were in Paul’s day, but I do get the clear message here that death is not the end! So while we may grieve at our own loss of our loved ones, if they died in Christ, we can rejoice for them. The other thing that matters is to know with assurance, “we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thess 4:17b) This, of course, is why we can rejoice for those who go before us and why we need not fear death ourselves. Christ is coming for us. Those who have died before He comes will not be forgotten or left behind. And we will be together with Him forever. Amen!