A beige, rose colored casket stood open and to the left as we entered the room. Soft, downy puckers and a silken fluffy pillow filled in around the corpse. The mortician had done his work, too; very well, some said. But all the multi-colored flowers and all the silkiness and paint on his face could not dismiss the coldness of death. I stood in awe as I was struck again with the finality of that last enemy which we must all face.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you.” This passage came to mind and I felt a reassuring sense of hope.
Strange, is it now, how God is always there just when we need Him? I was thankful that through faith I could cling to the promises of God in this time of sorrow. God is so close in a time of death.
Yes, God is there when we need Him and that is all the time!! God is not just a place to which to run when death strikes and we feel at a loss. Feeling a deep need, we throw ourselves on the mercy of God. Whether we admit it or not, God is always present. He is there when we are in the depths of sorrow and when we in a moment of weakness are cursing and swearing. “God is always there when I need Him” is not a complete truth for this statement presupposes that at times (when things are going well and I do not feel the need for God) we do not need Him. God is like a handy tool; He is there when needed but conveniently tucked away when not. What a foolish, blasphemous idea of Almighty God!
God has sent His Holy Spirit to be our Comforter but His work is not limited to comfort as we feel we need it. God knows what is best for us and that is why He is always everywhere present. We need the omnipresence of God for our very existence and He knows this in a perfect way. God is there to hear our cries of sorrow in the black of night and God is there to hear our heart commit murder.
You experience God’s faithfulness in a special way when crying out in your sorrow, He comes by His Spirit saying, “Fear not. I have overcome death and the grave.” Then, with a renewed heart you vow to live a life of thankfulness to God but mere moments later you find yourself walking in sin again. We have a constant need for the cross and the forgiving power of God through Christ. This struggle is the constant mortification of the old man which the Heidelberg Catechism speaks about. Impressed with God’s gracious omnipresence one moment; we are shaking our fists in His face the next. We leave the graveside and we soon forget all about death, God, and our need for a Savior. Let us be thankful that He does not forget us in like manner!
God is always present wherever we may be. May this truth be an encouragement to us as children of God; in life with its constant fight against sin and in death with its sorrow and joy born in hope. God is an ever present Help.