This morning I signed on my computer to write my posting. I went to my email first to see if there was a Caringbridge update on my friend, Kim. She had been in the hospital last week and they finally sent her home on Wednesday and placed her in hospice care. I knew she was living on borrowed time, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks this morning when I read her mom’s posting… “Our dear, sweet Kim left us today…” At 39 years old, Kim left this world and stepped into the arms of Jesus. She leaves behind a husband, three beautiful children ranging in age from 4 to 12, two sisters, a brother, a mother, a grandmother and a ton of people who loved her.
As Kim walked the two year journey with cancer, she never wavered in her faith. I was blessed to spend some time with her a few weeks ago. She wasn’t focused on herself and what she was loosing. She focused on Jesus and her family. Her biggest concern was for her husband, Michael, and the children. She wanted them to know she loved them and to find the strength from within to go on after she was gone.
She told me Jesus would carry her through whatever she faced. She lived John 16:33 which says “”I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Kim knew the peace of Jesus. She knew He had authority over all she was facing and she knew nothing could separate her from Him [Romans 8:35-39]. Today, she is with Him in paradise [Luke 23:43].
What are you holding onto today? Where are you finding your source of strength? Do you know that you know that you know you are in the Father’s hand and you will be with Him forever? You can know these things. Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you haven’t cried out to Him before, you can today.
There’s a bumper sticker that states it best: “No Jesus, No Peace! Know Jesus, Know Peace!” My prayer for you, dear friends, is to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and know the peace that comes only from Him. His peace is the peace that surpasses all understanding and can carry you through any storm [Philippians 4:7]. Won’t you seek it today?