A Fallen Warrior

There are moments in our lives where reality checks in, and our world is shaken up by unexpected events. The passing of a friend or loved one is such an event. Yesterday I woke up the terrible news that someone I knew had expired. Someone whose ministry and life created waves of change and the outer ripples marked my life as well. He was a spiritual warrior, an exemplary man of God, a family man, someone who, since I’ve known him, gave more of himself than what he received in return. I was shaken and was reminded that life, as we know it, is one of the most fragile things in existence.

Many thoughts and questions flooded my mind: Why him? What about his wife and kids? How come it wasn’t someone else? I could’ve thought of a few better candidates like perhaps a criminal. Why take someone who was doing your will God? I was angry.

Truth be told, it’s difficult to see a silver lining in these situations, many of the words people offer as condolences are “easier said than done”, and grief is a process. I can’t pretend to say that everything will be ok, because it’s not ok, I can’t just say “he’s in a better place”, because his family would prefer him here. What I can say is that God sees the bigger picture, even when we don’t, and despite the way things may seem, He IS IN CONTROL.

We may have lost a spiritual warrior, but his legacy lives on with his family and in each person his ministry impacted.

I ask for prayer for the affected family. I pray for peace and not just any peace, but the kind the Word speaks of; peace that surpasses all understanding. Perhaps this never gets to the eyes of the family, what matters is that it gets to the ears of God.

Yesterday, my world was shaken, but one truth was evident in the midst of everything; my God remains unshakable.