God has always used creative ways to speak to His children. Remember Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3? Jacob's dream in Genesis 28? Well, in today's world, God still uses lots of creativity to get our attention. Here lately, God has used Facebook (of all things!) to speak to me...
While Daddy was in the hospital, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a link to a great article/devotion by Anne Graham Lotz called Resting in the Will of God. This devotion played a role in helping me obtain the peace that I had during Daddy's illness and death. It was uncanny how it addressed the very circumstances I was up against as my Daddy lay in a hospital bed in Critical Care. I didn't have a lot of time, so I didn't read all of the scripture references and answer all of the questions, but I read enough to get the encouragement I needed to continue to seek peace from the Holy Spirit.
The last couple of lines of the devotion read, "... like Habakkuk, I will rejoice in the Lord as I let go of what I want, when I want it, how I want it, and I lie down in the arms of my heavenly Father. Turning the thought around, when Jesus prayed from the cross, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit' (Luke 23:46), that's what He did - He lay down in the arms of His heavenly Father." These two sentences gave me a great visual of how to lay my situation in Jesus' hands. And they offered affirmation that I was doing the right thing trusting God to take care of my Daddy.
Thank you, Lord, for that timely message!
Another time that I believe God used Facebook as a means to communicate with me was on March 19, 2014. My Daddy had been in heaven for a week, and I was still in a fog, just trying to take care of all of my responsibilities without letting anything fall through the cracks. My husband's business gets "crazy busy" in March, and I didn't want to bother him with my grief, and - to be honest - I was so busy myself that I didn't really have time to grieve. Scrolling through Facebook, I came across a link to an article called Jesus Mourns With You by Suzie Fuller. This article portrays Jesus as a "safe place" to mourn for loved ones. Just what I needed to hear!
There is a prayer at the end of the article that says, "Loving Savior, who promises never to leave me or forsake me, who understands the weight I've carried, today I invite You to weep with me. I feel joy that I can come to You with open hands to receive renewed life in the midst of my grief. In Jesus' name, Amen."
So now, when the tears begin to fall, I call on Jesus to weep with me. I know I'm in a "safe place" with Jesus, and I can grieve all I need. He has never failed me, and He is always there. "Praise the Lord! He is good. God's love never fails." Psalm 136:1
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