Today is our wedding anniversary. We are celebrating 35 years of a blessed (not perfect) marriage. We plan to spend our day together and share faith, hope, and love. I can think of no more priceless ingredients in our marriage recipe.
I thank God for my beloved. He is my love, my joy, and my blessing. How grateful I am for him! I am learning not to take our love or a day together for granted. I am realizing more and more that each day I spend with him is a precious gift.
Our lives are different now but still filled with those God-given gifts of faith, hope, and love. Those aspects of our marriage did not originate in us but from the One who joined us together and blessed us so richly. From The Holy Bible we learn that of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love.
”But now faith, hope, and love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.“ (First Corinthians 13:13)
”What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Mark 10:9)
”This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Sometimes I read that which perfectly relates to my feelings. There are three very real emotions that many of us either feel, have felt, or will feel. Yet it is rare to find grief, love, and hope expressed so well and beautifully as by one writer. If you can relate to these emotions, then I think you will be blessed by the following thoughts written by James E. Foy.
GRIEF, LOVE, HOPE
“Many of us have experienced and endured the loss of a spouse, a child, a sibling, a relative, or a close friend. When a loved one leaves this world, leaves us behind, we experience unfamiliar aspects of grief, love, and hope. Intense emotions that descend upon us as a storm cloud.
Sometimes each of these will be experienced separately: consumed by GRIEF, for example, that expels other emotions. Almost like being in the grip of a monstrous boa constrictor depriving one of oxygen. Grief that is a weight heavier than one can carry. Grief that threatens to be a constant companion from now on as the once familiar has instantly become unfamiliar and accompanied with indescribable emptiness and loss. Grief under which one cries out: ‘I can’t do this.’ In one sense, grief at a time of personal loss is a cryptic expression of affection.
Grief is not bad — in truth it can be good, because it enables release. A release that is necessary for one’s well-being. As the release (that may be thought of as unattainable) is experienced, the grief will gradually subside. Grief — natural and reasonable grief — is not to be rejected, quenched, or denied. On the other hand, one need not exaggerate or wallow in grief. Grief probably will not totally evaporate but will accomplish its vital purpose and retreat into the background.
Meanwhile, even in the throes of grief sometimes one will be flooded by LOVE: the warmth of the physical presence now absent; overwhelmed by the closeness that was known; the vivid, palpable re-living of deep affection and desire; the reality that this person cannot be replaced; the awareness that the loved one is still present in a new and incomprehensible manner. Love that defies description. Love that enables one to carry on. Love that encourages acceptance of the new normal. Love that strengthens. Love that will remain always but allows enjoyment of new relationships.
Moreover there is HOPE. And sometimes this hope drives out all other awarenesses. It may be accompanied by physical sensations like a tingle in the spine, a tightening of the solar plexus, even the proverbial goose bumps. Though that will be rare, it is a beautiful sensation.
This hope in its highest and most precious assurance is reserved for those who know the resurrected Jesus and therefore have cause to anticipate a reunion with the loved one. A reunion that will enable a more perfect, more satisfying, and more intimate relationship with the loved one than could ever be realized on earth (regardless of the type of earthly relationship). This can bring a joy beyond comprehension or expression. Hope based in Jesus Christ is a beautiful reality.
Of course after losing a loved one, all three of these mentioned emotions may come and go, increase or decrease, and be felt together rather than distinctly. In various combinations and intensities. The sorrow of GRIEF is bearable because of the certainty of our HOPE. And LOVE will prevail throughout eternity for those reborn into God’s family.
Grief is a cry of the heart, a sigh of the soul, a despair of the mind.
Love is the beat of the heart, the breath of the soul, the joy of the mind.
Hope is the grasp of the heart, comfort of the soul, the resilience of the mind.
I hope these thoughts bring comfort to others as they have to me.” (JEF)
“Therefore you too have GRIEF now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” (John 16:22)
”This is my commandment that you LOVE one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
“Now may the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
The front of the book jacket states its title, OVERCOMER: 8 WAYS TO LIVE A LIFE OF UNSTOPPABLE STRENGTH,
UNMOVABLE FAITH, AND UNBELIEVABLE POWER. Authored by David Jeremiah, it is today’s focus, because it offers hope that I want to share.
The back of the book jacket reveals more. “In OVERCOMER bestselling author Dr. David Jeremiah uses Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 6. His command for us to overcome the forces of evil by putting on the armor of God — to lay out a pathway for spiritual victory. Dr. Jeremiah also reminds us we’re not alone in this fight. God knows what we need, and He provides us with His power so we can face life’s challenges assured of success.
‘These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)’”
This is the book my beloved was reading shortly before his stroke. I helped him finish it by reading aloud to us. Since then we have finished that book, and together we have read other encouraging books and devotionals that share hope.
We recommend this book. Take time to prayerfully consider what God wants you to learn from it. I pray God’s Holy Spirit will help the Scriptures in it and God’s purpose for it reach into hearts of all who read it.
I believe He wants each of His children to be an Overcomer. Read the Bible daily, and read this book also! Discover His strength, faith, and power! Hope is a bonus!
“Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17)
