Wise Words

"Wait on the Lord, be strong and of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart...wait on the Lord. Psalms 27:14

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Word Filled Wednesday for March 10 - Praise You In This Storm





1 Corinthians 15:52-57
In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting?"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."


Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.


2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

What do all these verses have in common? To me the prevailing theme seems to be mourning, sorrow, death, comfort, and in most of them, victory through Jesus, our Savior.

Precious little Layla Grace went into the arms of Jesus early yesterday morning. So many, so many of us prayed for a miracle. Prayed that her frail little body would be healed from the awful cancer that had invaded it. Prayed that God would look down and answer our prayers the way we wanted Him to.

He did not. Instead He answered our prayers the way that He knew to be best. Sweet Layla Grace is now running, playing, laughing, living with abandon. Free to be without pain, without sorrow, without sickness and without fear. We rejoice that yesterday was her NEW birthday. We mourn because those who are earth bound and left behind are grieving over the tragic death of this earthly angel. Through it all, we know that her family will see her again. They will all have perfect bodies and will never be separated again for all eternity. Though we draw comfort in that, it still leaves an empty hole in our hearts, our soul. We can't comprehend why she had to go. But God knew. God had a very specific job for her short little time here on this earth and she fulfilled it magnificently. How could she do it any other way?

Her parents are having a very tough time today. Making arrangements. Dealing with their now youngest who doesn't understand that her sister isn't here anymore. This morning, 3 year old Claire told the dog to stop barking because it would wake Layla. How do you tell a small child that she will not see her younger sister on this side of heaven anymore? How do you make them understand? How do you help a struggling 9 year old who DOES understand to cope with the death of that sibling? How do you help her through the pain and anger and grief? How do you comfort the parents in this time of loss, especially of a child so young, so precious, so loving and so loved?

Frankly, I don't know. But I do know that God knows how to. The promises that God has made to those who have been left behind by the passing of a loved one are not in vain. Those who are in Christ and have died, have lost young children, babies, infants, unborn children, WILL see them again and in that moment of reunion, then, then they will know that they will never have to be parted again. Praise the Lord for that promise in the midst of our storms!

Please pray for Ryan and Shanna, Layla Grace's parents, and for Jenna and Claire, Layla Grace's 9 year old and 3 year old sister, as well as for the rest of the family and friends who have surrendered this earthly angel into God's eternity. They sure could use it today.

"Praise You In This Storm"
~Casting Crowns~


I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth


If You’d like to join us for Word Filled Wednesday, post your photo and Bible verse. (or feel free to add mine to your site) Then send a link back so others can visit and have a word filled day!

To see other wonderful Word Filled Wednesdays for this week please hop on over to Lori @ All You Have To Give or drop by “The 160 Acre Woods” to find out more about how to participate in Word Filled Wednesday's.

19 comments:

April said...

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Amen!!
I will continue to keep them in my prayers.
Blessings,
April

Peggy said...

Blessings Nic...I chose that second one for an upcoming post! I just love your gift coming through here! The verses are excellent though they all deal with some of the deep sadness of life we pass through...so thankful that Jesus has the ultimate victory!

This is such a difficult time with loosing our loved ones momentarily but eternally with Jesus (those that die knowing Him)!

Thank you for sharing the heavy prayer needs of this precious one's family. So many questions this side of eternity. I ache for them but still grieving myself so this is all to raw, this pain, this heaviness... know that I'm praying... more in the spirit, because as you can tell...my own words fail me. Lifting the Marsh family & friends in prayer.

I'm linking to my other blog
Blessings Nic...I chose that second one for an upcoming post! I just love your gift coming through here! The verses are excellent though they all deal with some of the deep sadness of life we pass through...so thankful that Jesus has the ultimate victory!

This is such a difficult time with loosing our loved ones momentarily but eternally with Jesus (those that die knowing Him)!

Thank you for sharing the heavy prayer needs of this precious one's family. So many questions this side of eternity. I ache for them but still grieving myself so this is all to raw, this pain, this heaviness... know that I'm praying... more in the spirit, because as you can tell...my own words fail me. Lifting the Marsh family & friends in prayer.

I'm linking to my other blog but my own WFW is on my regular blog.(it did not work so I had to use reg.)
http://monday4missions.blogspot.com/2010/03/get-angry-get-involved.html

Thanks Nicole for sharing all this and the updates!

Peggy

Susan said...

Oh...I'm broken hearted for Layla's family!!

I will be praying for them Nic, how sad.

Because of my son having cancer my life has been surrounded by parents losing their precious children.

So hard.


Thank God for the promises we have in Jesus and they will be reunited.

Blessings!

Peggy said...

Sorry Nicole..had to come back because while I was here and praying you visited me...and I had to :=) SMILE! But the first,of the clouds and names of God with my blog verse is my header...and the other, well...
They are both my own attempts to do what I can in graphics but the photo of God's heart is REAL and has to do with my MISSION ...which is my heart with His...shared on that other link above...

Thanks for your encouraging visit!

Lisa said...

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - I so love this verse. It's so hard to wrap our feeble, human brains around the loss of a precious child. But God's promises are TRUE and can be counted on in spite of what our senses are screaming out in agony.

Praying for this dear family.

Great WFW. :)

Hugs,
Lisa

Joyfull said...

Thank you for sharing a powerful verse. Our thoughts and prayers are with this family. I also love the words of this song. Thanks for sharing today.

Debbie Petras said...

So sorry to read the news of that little girl's passing. But she is running and in no pain which is a comfort. However, I'm sure her family is going through a very difficult time now.

I love the Scriptures and photos you used today. I long for the day when Jesus returns. I just pray that my loved ones come to know Him first.

Blessings,
Debbie

Unknown said...

Thank you for the update. My prayers continue to be with her family and friends. Your verses were very encouraging. I so look forward to the day we are all in heaven with our precious Lord and all those beloveds who have gone ahead of us. Have a blessed week.

LeAnn said...

I have had your blog open all day, but for some reason I kept putting off reading it. Now I know why, It was the Lord. I am so saddened by the loss of Layla, though I rejoice that she is now in heaven. After I read about her here I also posted it on my FB page and asked people to pray. My sister-in-law if fighting cancer too right now and it is still growing. Anyway, thanks for the verses you placed up there before sharing the news. It was just right. I will continue to pray.
LeAnn~

Momgen said...

This is a beautiful post thank you for coming by mine.

Mylene said...

I agree with you, God answered your prayers the way God knew to be best.

This is heart-breaking for the parents of Layla Grace. May they feel the comfort of God as they mourn for their daughter.

Amydeanne said...

one of my favorite songs at the end there!
I'm sorry to read about Layla. I'll be praying for her family!

❀~Myrna~❀ said...

I am in prayer for Layla"s family .
I suppose the best we can do is love the hurting & just be there for them.And of course the most we can do for anyone is pray.
Blessings,
~Myrna

Cathy said...

Your pictures and verses are all beautiful. I'm praying for the family and friends of precious Layla.

Jean-Luc Picard said...

A beautifully put together post, Nic.

Anonymous said...

My heart and prayers are with Layla's family; The first photo of the angel blowing the horn with the gathering clouds behind it was so exquisite (I misspelled that didn't I??)

Layla is in the arms of our Father and it's hard to find comfort when we feel the lost and pain here on Earth; Praise Him that one day there will be no more pain or weeping.

Joan Hall said...

Praying for this precious little one's family. It is comforting to know that one day Jesus will wipe away every tear.

Blessings,
Joan

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the loss of this little one. May the family find comfort in the Lord at this time.

MommyToTwoBoys said...

I found you from your comment on Layla's blog. I have been severely affected by the death of Layla. See, I am not a person of faith. Well, I wasn't until last week! Layla's death and my confusion and inability to understand, accept, and move on let me know I need faith in my life. I do not like that Layla was sacrificed, even if it brings so much good to the world, but she did bring me closer to taking a spiritual journey.

Your thoughts and scripture here are exactly what I need. They answer a lot of my questions and give me some comfort in a time when I am struggling to make sense of many things.

Thank you!