In just the past few hours my childhood into early adulthood friend went home to be with the Lord. Left behind are grandparents, her parents, her husband, her two young children, her brother and sister and nieces and nephews and countless other loved ones and friends… and even acquaintances that were touched by her life and by her story…
This was her story. She fought the good fight. She faced the attack of Satan through cancer and she never turned her back on her God.
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job 2:3-10
This was her story. Job faced Satan and won and Beth, she faced Satan, and my friend… she won. Yes, she asked why… no she didn’t understand… but she never sinned against God or cursed Him with her lips… she was faithful until the very end… always turning to her God not away from Him.
She will never be forgotten…
When we impact the lives of others through kindness… through smiles… through joy… through laughter… through sufferings… through forgiveness… through hope… in and through Christ… we will be remembered by all those we touched and our life her on earth will live on, our legacy will continue, through all of them… even while we our selves are in the presence of the One who taught us to live this way by His own life and death. The One who came to save.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’
and,
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit was led into the wilderness to fight Satan. My friend, Beth, full of the Holy Spirit was led into cancer. We will all face the wilderness. We will all fight Satan… I don’t know what your wilderness will look like… I just know what the One who will bring you through it looks like. He looks like hope and He smells like victory and feels like life and tastes sweeter than honey and the sound of His voice is like a gentle breeze that breathes words of comfort into the depths of my soul.
My friend was a part of my life from at least 2nd grade until well after high school graduation when we both made the plunge and got our first apartment together. We found out that we couldn’t live together… at least not at that time… neither of us was walking with the Lord at that time… and where the Lord is not, there is strife and trouble. My friend and I went separate ways and within that year we both were married and had children and then life just had us in separate directions.
Several years ago we reconnected on Facebook and now I look back and read our Private Messages to one another and I am so thankful I am not a “message deleter”.
You know I can’t remember, what were all the reasons we parted ways back in 1998, when she moved back home and I moved over into a one bedroom. Once we reconnected none of that mattered. It was even as if it never happened. We both had been to the cross since then, we both had been washed clean by then, we both had come to experience the grace and mercy of God in and through His Son Jesus Christ. She had returned and I had finally repented.
What really mattered was that we were now not just friends in the flesh but full sisters in Christ. We will live together again… this time for all eternity… because we will both be home.
I am supposed to go here in a few hours and teach children. I am about to go and try to laugh and sing and dance with preschoolers as they learn about the healing of Naaman and then will be teaching K – 5th grade about the sovereignty of God as we dig into Romans 9:14-18. Right now I am not sure if I will be able to hold it together… but by the grace of God I probably will.
I probably will because Beth is experiencing the reality that I will only get to teach about… the full healing of Creator God in Christ… and she is hearing the words, Well done, my good and faithful servant, well done.
I spent Tuesday morning with my friend, then left that afternoon to head to Kentucky for a D6 conference. I was at this conference Wednesday until Friday late afternoon. This song was sung every day during this time… and my heart sang it in honor of my friend as I prayed for the peace of her God to wash over her… especially the line that sings, and on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near, and my time has come, still my soul will sing Your praise unending, 10,000 years and then forevermore…