Comfort Amidst Tears

0:00Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind. First Thessalonians 4-13. Welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread. Comfort amidst tears was written by Sheridan Voisi and read by Westward. First Thessalonians 4-13-18. Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord's Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen

1:05asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Comfort amidst tears written by Sheridan Voisi. The call from my mother came around 9 p.m. It's about your dad, she said. He's gone. While I had been expecting this call for days and was relieved, my father was no longer in pain, the news still hit hard. I sobbed deeply as grief took its course over the following days and weeks.

2:08While losing my father was hard on us all, it was particularly hard for some of my unbelieving family members. To their understanding, dad was gone forever. It was then that I realized how believing in Jesus helps us to grieve. Paul explained it this way, since Jesus rose again from death, those who believe in him will one day rise again too. This will happen on the day he gathers us up to spend eternity together with him. Paul tells us this so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. Knowing I will see my father again, brings comfort amidst the tears. Scripture never promotes griefless loss. Even Jesus wept for a dead friend he knew would return to life. And sometimes we don't know what a loved one believed before they died. Still, our grief has a safety net. Because of him, we will see our believing loved ones again,

3:15and we can entrust all into his care. Let's pray, O Lord, we thank you that even when grief hits hard, we don't have to grieve without hope, because you rose and so will those who belong to you. So in our grief help us to share the hope that we have of an eternity with you. May our loved ones who remain come to know the same hope that we have, knowing their life and death is secure in you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. When have you realized the power of hope in Christ? How do you think that hope differs from the world's idea?