Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son [Jesus]. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."¹

Is it okay to be angry at God? Yes, we said in yesterdays Daily Encounter, but we need to resolve angry feelings along with our grief; otherwise, in the long run, we only hurt ourselves.

Fourth, the question was also asked, is my daughter, who was killed in a car accident, in heaven with God even though she had strayed from him for a season?

In addressing this grief-stricken mother, the answer to her question, "Is my daughter with God in heaven right now?" is a very understandable question at such a time. The good news is that none of us gets into heaven on the basis of what we have or haven't done. We get into heaven by the grace of Godâ€"and on the basis of what Jesus has done for us in that he died to pay the penalty for all our sinsâ€"and believing and accepting this. Because your daughter trusted in Jesus as her Savior, she is safe in heaven and you will see her again and be together forever.

As today's Scripture assures us, if we have accepted God's Son, Jesus, as our Savior, we can know that we know that we know that we and our loved ones who have also accepted Jesus will be with God in Heaven forever.

Fifth, getting back to your grief, if you can't seem to resolve it, I urge you to seek professional counseling to help you work through your pain. If you live in North America and would like the name and phone number of a Christian counselor in your area, call the Narramore Christian Foundation at 1-800-477-5893 and press 1 for Dianne and she will help you.

Sixth, every day be sure to commit and trust your life and way to God no matter how you feel … and keep telling God exactly how you feel. He knows, he understands, and he cares. And keep saying out loud in a private place, "I choose to trust you God … I choose to trust you God …." When you keep doing this, in time your feelings will catch up with your choice to trust in God.

Seventh, give yourself time to heal. Broken arms heal in six weeks. Broken hearts take much, much longer.

Finally, remember that God is with you no matter what and he will never leave you or forsake you. Never. That's his promise to you and to all believers.²

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the assurance in that all who have put their trust in you and have accepted your Son, Jesus, as their savior will spend eternity in heaven with you. And whenever I face heartbreaking disappointments, help me to remember that while these may be allowed by you, they are not caused by you. And help me always to resolve feelings of anger and grief and not bottle them up. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 John 5:11-13 (NIV).
2. See Hebrews 13:5.

NOTE: For further help see the article, "Grief and Loss Recovery" at: http://tinyurl.com/7l5xd.

The book, How to Mend a Broken Heart might also be very helpful. You can check it out at www.actscom.com/store.

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