Preacher on the Run…

I couldn’t imagine walking through that as a parent. This was my only thought as I hung up the phone after a conversation with my friend. He and his wife had just learned they were pregnant a little while earlier. We celebrated together. We chatted about fatherhood. But this call was to grieve what could have been. In this phone call, he informed me that their baby girl had a health issue that would cause it to be a stillbirth.

Why? That was the only question on my mind. I cried with my friend. Grasped for any solace I might offer, but in those moments words seem inadequate. My friend couldn’t understand it all. He couldn’t make sense of the difficulty and death. He and his wife struggled through the next number of months, vacillating between extreme joy and heart-wrenching grief. Joy for the life of their daughter, yet grief because of the inevitable reality of an immediate goodbye.

My friend and his wife have since had three more children. They handled it extremely well and are doing fantastic in mind, emotion, and spirit. I’m not sure I would have the same reactions, maturity, and faith they did in those circumstances. But watching them walk through it taught me one thing…understanding is not the basis of faith. An article entitled, “The Lesser Known Joesph“, by Paul David Tripp, reminded me of that truth recently.

The lesser-known Joseph is not the only one we read about in Scripture who believed and acted without understanding. Job is another great example of enduring hardship and never getting the answer to his “why?”. My friend is the same and maybe you are too. I hope this article encourages and comforts you. I don’t pretend to share it because it will answer all the tough questions you or others you know may have. But as always I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

Until Next Time…

_{Photo by AZGAN MjESHTRI on Unsplash}