Several years ago, our friend and former church member, Rhonda called me. Her and her family moved to Georgia about the time my family had made the obedient step into full-time mission and evangelism. Rhonda\u2019s husband, Rob, was being placed on hospice. He was dying from cancer at the age of 47 years old. I traveled to Georgia soon after her call to spend time with Rob and his family. There were so many holy moments that day as family and friends visited, we talked about Jesus, and we watched football together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a point in our day when I had to say goodbye and head back home. I knew it was likely this would be my last time seeing Rob on this side of heaven. He shared his confidence in salvation and his knowledge of Christ\u2019s love for him. Just as when Rob and I spent time in recommitment prayer many years prior, we once again affirmed our shared faith and confidence in salvation and resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About one week later, Rhonda called to tell me Rob had passed from this life into the arms of Jesus. As we prayed together and talked together, she told me a story that touched my heart and made Psalm 27 one of my favorite Psalms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Rob was declining and moving toward the end of his life, he asked Rhonda, \u201cIs this the end? Am I dying?\u201d Rhonda responded, \u201cRob, it seems like you are at the end.\u201d Rob said, \u201cWhat do I do now?\u201d Rhonda responded, \u201cI don\u2019t know, but Pastor Matt always told us when there are questions, we can find God\u2019s answer in here [holding up the Bible I had gifted to Rob].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Rhonda told me about the experience, she shared how the Holy Spirit led her to the Psalms. She started reading at Psalm 1 and continued. As she moved from Psalm to Psalm, it seemed the answer they were seeking was not coming forth. As she approached Psalm 23, she was certain this great Psalm would provide the comfort and the answer. Yet, even Psalm 23 was not speaking to their hearts and Rob\u2019s question, \u201cWhat do I do now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she started to read Psalm 27, her heart began to find peace. She read, \u201cThe Lord is my light and my salvation\u2014whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life\u2014of whom shall I be afraid<\/em>\u201d (verse 1). She continued, \u201cOne thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek his temple\u201d<\/em> (verse 4). Then she came to the final two verses, \u201cI remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord<\/em>\u201d (Verses 13-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rhonda closed the Bible and said, \u201cRob, I think we have our answer. We need to wait for the Lord.\u201d She shared how the peace of God filled the room, as she and Rob waited for the Lord in the confidence that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My eyes filled with tears as Rhonda shared this holy moment with me. During this new season in Rob\u2019s life, his confidence in the Lord was that he would be entering the land of the living. He was simply waiting in peace on this new season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Psalm 27 has become a favorite Psalm in my life because I pray each follower of Jesus would have this confidence when they come to the time of life on this earth coming to an end. In Romans 8:16-17, Paul speaks of this confidence when he writes, \u201cThe Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God\u2019s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs\u2014heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Christ we have a confidence of God\u2019s presence with us in life and in death. The promises of God are true that the Lord is our light, our salvation, and our light. We have nothing to fear because the Lord is with us. We can confidently wait on the Lord in our struggles and suffering because we know the Lord is faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have the confidence that you will enter the land of the living when your eyes on this earth close in death? If not, I would love to talk with you more (matt@livingtheadventure.net or 618-830-6670). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prayer: Lord, death is not easy to comprehend or to walk through. Yet, we know you are with us and we can have the confidence that we will enter the land of the living. If we do not have that confidence, show us where fear and uncertainty inhabit our lives and help us confess sin and fear to you. Please give us confidence. In Jesus\u2019 name. Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several years ago, our friend and former church member, Rhonda called me. Her and her family moved to Georgia about the time my family had made the obedient step into full-time mission and evangelism. Rhonda\u2019s husband, Rob, was being placed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t