Moment in the Word

Hebrews 13:5 ...God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
This past week I was humbly honored to conduct the funeral for one of my childhood buddies. When he and I were little, the two of us attended church together at the old Mountain View Assembly of God. We knew each other from first grade until graduation from Liberty High School in 1975. But, during an interim of many years, the two of us totally lost contact until his funeral brought us together one last time.
Sadly, life is often like that. People grow apart as they go their separate ways and do their own things. But despite the inevitable advent of old age, God remains faithful in His timeless promise, "NEVER will I leave you; NEVER will I forsake you."
Preparing for the funeral service, I was reminded that despite the ancient divine assurance, we still try to restrict God according to our own human limitations regarding time and space. But this tendency is wrong.
Consider if you will a confrontation that Jesus faced after the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:21-25). Martha, the sister of the deceased, was angry at Christ for waiting so long to come.
"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 
Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life..."
Martha's hurtful protest pivoted on the crux of fleeting time, "God was too late to effectively intervene for the sick man's sake, and her dead brother would never get another chance until earth's very last day."
But looking far ahead to the Resurrection and the new life that would come, Jesus used a present-tense verb in his answer, "I 'AM' the Resurrection and the new life to come... right now at this very moment!"
Thus, God is not bound by time regarding the dead...  as we are.
But what about space? Is God limited or confined to where He is able to be or to go regarding the location of the dead?
Listen to the words of King David, "I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there." Psalms 139:7-8
Truly, this much we already expect... that when we appear in Heaven, God will be there to greet us! However, David said much more that we often overlook, "If I go down to Sheol (the dark realm of the dead), you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you." Psalms 139:8-12
Because of circumstances beyond our control, our loved ones sometimes find themselves in unfamiliar places where their steps wander... whether to the highest Heaven on the wings of the morning past the farthest sea or through the gloomy valley of death all the way to the lowest grave.
But even in those darkest places of extreme uncertainty and confusion, God does not leave us. Others might abandon us, even our closest family and friends might desert us, but God knows exactly where to find us when our time comes to step back into His glorious light.
Why? Because the Almighty is not confined to either time or space. Right now... today, He is the Resurrection and new life yet to come. Although we who survive must stop at the edge of a loved one's grave, yet our Savior moves easily and speedily from Heaven above to the Lower Parts below, on the wings of the morning, past the farthest sea, to the deepest dungeon because the light and the darkness are all the same to Him.
You see, this was Jesus' ministry from the very beginning, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD's favor has come... he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." Isaiah 61:1-3
And because of Jesus... and because of His Cross, Christ's Church is empowered to continue this same ministry of reconciliation and deliverance because of the blessed hope of His Resurrection from the dead when He led captivity captive and gave good gifts to men (Psalms 68:18, Ephesians 4:8)!
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
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