It was October 2005 - we listened with deep sadness to accounts of the earthquake devastation in India, right on the heels of the devastating earthquake in El Salvador. Our hearts broke as we heard tales of horror--children trapped under buildings that have caved-in under the forces of nature, families split apart in unbelievable stories of sorrow and pain. Death all around--and in the midst of it, tiny glimpses of life...a child or a baby here and there--found alive and well.
Cave-ins come without warning...and perhaps a cave-in has come to your life this day. Oh, not the earthquake of an earth in physical rebellion...but the earthquake of a heart crushed by sorrow, pain, hurt and rejection. Hearts ache all over our world...and they find their way on the Web as well as walking the streets of our world. How do you cope? What do you do when you are crushed beyond measure? Is there life after death?
Ask the Savior...He who partook of hurt, sorrow, pain, rejection and death. He experienced death that we might experience life. He arose triumphantly from the grave in a celebration that's gone on for over two thousand years...a celebration of life in Him that gives "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness"...it's the divine love of God and it flows into the caved-in place where you are today--to bring you His life, to heal your hurt and to give you peace.
We have no answers to the great tragedies of life...but we do have one consolation. When we know not WHY, we can know WHO...for there is Someone who suffers along with us in every heartbreak of human life. We must believe His Word--that He IS and that He will BE there--or we perish. Remember, no cave-in--no earthquake--can ever separate you from the love of God which is found in Jesus Christ. Believe it - pray for the sorrowing and suffering around the world - and know HE is their peace AND yours this day as you receive it from Him.
Scripture:
"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord (Romans 8:38,39)."
Prayer: "Lord, we pray for the sorrowing, the hurting, the hungry, the homeless in our world today; minister help and healing, comfort and peace that You alone can give in such darkness and despair. Heal hurting hearts today, we pray, In Jesus' Name, Amen."
