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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Today I've got a devotion running on Proverbs 31 and Crosswalk, called "But Will He Conquer My Death?"  If you're joining me today after reading this, I bid you a special welcome. If you are a regular reader of my blog, I'm so glad you're here today.

I think a lot of us are facing what feels like the "death" of something.  It could be the loss of a job, a house, or a business venture.  Some face the loss of a dream due to wrong choices, or limited opportunities due to the economy.  The death of a relationship carries physical pain some times.

And it's sometimes very hard to admit the depth of the pain when you compare yourself to others who are facing significantly worse tragedies.  What I want to say today is there's nothing wrong with honest grief.  Especially when you've lost something dear. 

There is something unhealthy about denying that pain.  You see, when we deny the reality of the pain we feel, we keep God at arm's length.  Being honest invites God into our real world.   And that is where God loves to be, and where He does His best healing work. 

If you are facing a "death" today, it's okay to admit it.  You've come to the right place, because we are gong to God's Word for some hope. I hope these passages minister to you as they have to me:

"Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  1 Corinthians 15:55-57

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."   John 16:33

" ... he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'” Isaiah 25:7-9

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him."  Romans 6:8-9

"I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. " Revelations 1:18

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. " Isaiah 42:16

"For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name.  I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand— I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’" Isaiah 51:16.
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39



What scripture has spoken life into your "death"? It could be one of these or one that you've read before.  Please post a comment and share it with all of us.  Or post a comment and share what feels like "death" to you.   I've got a gift pack to give away, including a book, note pad and Starbucks gift card.  I'll select a winner from those who post before Thursday night, and announce it Friday morning.  Please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you, or check back on Friday.

Is it too early to say, "He is Risen!"? 

I think not.

HE IS RISEN!!

Glynnis

46 comments:

L said...

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39
This verse spoke into my "death" four years ago when I had to leave all that I loved and move outside my bubble of security. It was the death of a dream, the death of a life style, the death of hopes for my children yet in every new circumstance, He was there. In every moment of grieving, He was there. Nothing was able to separate me from the love of my precious Savior. Now I am on a new journey with new challenges and I rest in the faith He has built in me that He is here.So yes in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Thank you for your post today, it helped to remind of what He has been doing in my heart. Thanks again. Have a blessed day.

valthecraftygal said...

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. " Isaiah 42:16
When I became a single parent (not by chioce)-all my "expectations of my life" ended....but now,years later I see how God lead me down new paths-turned my darkness into light and restored my soul.He was with me the whole time gently leading. He is able to do exceedingly more than we can imagine!! Praise God

Susan Privot said...

Deuteronomy 32:10 In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.

I love this verse - it reminds me that although I cannot shield and care for my son when he doesn't want me to, God is always there to guard, love, and protect him.

Anne Peterson said...

Romans 8:11 "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."
The losses of loved ones at times seems overwhelming, and when other losses come they trigger these painful feelings. My sister was murdered in 1982. She had been missing for over 20 years and we knew she was dead, but it wasn't settled. Without her body it won't be settled, but God gave peace that passed all understanding.
I loved your devotion today because you talked about how we need his resurrection in all areas of our lives.
You said, "Will You redeem what feels like death here and now?"
That spoke to me. That is what I will pray when waves come over me that want to rob my joy. Thank you so much.

LF said...

Right now my disease is flaring up. For me, this means I have to give up a lot of things for a season. I never know how long until remission comes again so it's hard. I had to say no to teaching the little ones at church, no to singing in choir for a while (which means no singing in choir for Easter-a big deal for me. I also had to learn how to accept help with my children and having food brought in. I had to say no to a lot of other things as well.

Yet, I can say that through these things and more God is still there. He has shown me His love and care through others who are helping. God is good and He will make all things new, I do believe this.

Leigh F. said...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 This verse has spoken volumes to me!

Cheri Bunch said...

Glynnis,
I do not have time to write what is in my heart. It is overflowing! Thank you for this! It is so true and so well put!
My children are all grown now. I didn't want to be a baby about this but some of them are extremely far away. I miss them so much! I just realized the other day that I am grieving their absence! I poured my life into all five and loved being their mom. (tears are streaming)
I have so much to be thankful for, I feel guilty being a big baby. I really tried to just suck it up and be strong, but to be honest my heart hurts a lot!
Thank you for such timely words! Once again, you hit it right on for me.
Many blessings to you and your family!
Cheri

Renee Swope said...

I loved your devotion today!! Thank you Glynnis for giving voice to what so many of us have felt but weren't sure why. Love you!

Unknown said...

Isaiah 42:16 that you mention here is a very special verse for me about moving forward in what God has for you even when all seems impossible. It's the verse we claimed for our family when we started our adoption process. We brought home a little girl with a heart condition from China last Spring--we spent Easter Sunday worshipping at a Chinese church. What a joy.

Melissa said...

Your devotion today spoke so strongly to me. I have been asking the same question - God I know you can, but will you? I have been asking this in relation to restoration of my marriage. I have been wondering if I am wrong to feel this way and it was so encouraging to see the very same question from you! Thank you!!!!

LuWho said...

Thanks for the encouragement. What feels like death to me right now is the death of losing my father to alzhiemer's. Realizing he will go into a nursing home probably very soon. Pleas pray for me. I'm having all our family over Easter Sunday. God has asked me to do this for my Dad. I'm having a lot of anxiety issues right now because I have so much on my plate. I'm on the top of the list for a pancreas transplant...I'm brittle diabetic; my adult son just broke his hand (due to anger); I'm not able to visit my daughter (who moved to the other side of the country with my only grandchild). But God is god andeven through all this my husband and I started teaching Sunday school and 2 children were saved! I can praise God through the wilderness.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your devotion! I was in that place about a year ago, after our daughter had been living with us for a year. She has been with us for two years now and it has been an emotional roller coaster. I "grieved" for my life before she moved in, the calmness, the time I had for myself and my son. I finally realized "grieving" the past is not going to do any good. It would just make me more sad. I told myself that I cant change things and she will be with us forever. Once I stopped living in the past, things got better for me. Her adoption was final last summer, and things have gotten better, but I know I have a lot more challenges to face and more praying to do!!

Lynette said...

I so appreciated your Encouragement for Today. It spoke to my heart. I have really been struggling with a lot of disappointments & frustrations the past 18 months or so. The verse Isaiah 42:16 in your blog today was helpful. These blind paths I travel are not alone, I am promised a guide ... and I will not be forsaken. Thank you Lord for bringing each person and experience you have into my life. While lately I've let every discouragement cause me to feel another death, I now realize I can see them as that and let the Lord comfort and heal those hurts as well as hold me as I face whatever life continues to have in store. Thank you so much for you understanding, honest, but very gentle words today. I needed to hear from the Lord thru you today.

sagreen125 said...

our family has gone through changes that seem like death. I don't have one verse, but just turning to my scripture notecards. I have been writing scriptures and encouraging words on notecards. It is amazing how they help. Just something I was leading. Because of certain things, I knew after praying and my husband I talking, that to stay was not good. It has been some months. But still hard. I just cry out to my heavenly father and read those scripture cards and sometimes cry more. It takes time and I continue to let him heal. It is good, but hurts. I think it hurts more when it involves other christians. Learning I have to trust my Heavenly father more

Wendy Pope said...

thank you glynnis for another great devotion! it was a timely message for this momma's heart.

Unknown said...

Love your post -- I'm going to post it on www.WeAreGraftedIn.com on Friday (I am including links to the original post on Prov 31 and Crosswalk as well as a link to your personal blog).

Anonymous said...

I can feel extremely sorry for myself and then I read all these comments from other people and your blog, and I realize how blessed I really am. My pick for a verse is Isaiah 42:16. I feel like I am in the desert, I feel that God isn't answering me and I feel forsaken. But....if God is going to work in my life, I need to go through these "deaths" and become more Christlike. Thanks Glynnis for your devotional. Just another reminder to let go and believe God. In His time. Nanci @ kelbla@aol.com

Sheila said...

"We trusted in Him and He saved us." and "I will not forsake them." (Isaiah 25:9 and Isaiah 42:16) These are words that I need to hear from the Lord right now. My husband and I are depending on him fully to meet our needs. The temptation to say "forget this!" is quite strong right now. We seek Him, we follow Him, we surrender every area of our lives to Him and yet we are constantly struggling to pay the bills. We are discouraged. And yet I know that He is good and I know that He loves us. We were hoping that some different job offers would come through and we recently found out that they did not. So there you have it! Death! Thank you for your devotional and blog as it helped me to set my eyes on Him this morning!

Karen said...

Thank you for posting this today and pointing me to the verse

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. " Isaiah 42:16

My son has lost his sight to Batten Disease which will effect his whole nervous system before it takes his life. As each new symptom arrives, we grieve yet another loss for him as we try to live with this dreadful disease. Your post today was very timely for me. This verse speaks peace to my heart that God will not forsake him but guide him and one day turn his darkness into light and make the rough places smooth. God conquered death!!

linnybabe said...

Last year I had to wear sunglasses into church to hide my red, puffy eyes. I had been crying, basically for four months, since our beautiful, brilliant, troubled 22 yr old son who we adopted as an infant died of an accidental drug overdose. I wanted to rejoice in the Resurrection, our hope, but grief would't make room for joy yet. I felt like God had ignored, or worse yet, mocked, the years of prayers I had offered up for our son. Over the last year, God has gone above and beyond to show me my son is with Him. I am thrilled to say that one year later, I am ready to celebrate the Resurrection, confident that our son is with Jesus and we will spend eternity with both of them!

Danielle said...

My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. Psalm 62:1-2

It's not always in silence that my soul rests in the Father--my mind is always going, I'm thinking and moving and worrying... but God is bringing me to another season of trust right now.

A few weeks ago we went to the doctor and were told my daughter had a cyst forming on her head, behind her ear... Went to an ENT Monday and it's not a cyst, it's the lymph node. We now wait 6 weeks to see if it grows larger than its 8mm size.

In the waiting, we go this coming Monday to have an ulrasound done on her thyroid. She's 11. In the beginning of my pregnancy with her, they found mine was Hypo. A few years ago, they found it in my mother. It's generational... but I am praying the binds are broken.

I'm resting in the fact that He is my strength. He is my Rock in which I stand... no matter what.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 35:1 in the NKJV. "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose"...This is life to me because it shows that in death (the dry parched barren desert)God lets life spring forth, and not just life but beautiful fragrant life.

This verse has brought me through my grief more than once.

Michelle said...

Glynnis,
Thanks for your post, it really resonated with me. My youngest son is adopted and brings such joy to our family - but life has also turned upside down due to his many issues from a cleft palate to behavioral stuff. My daughter has had severe health issues for 9 years now. At times door definately closed, but in hindsight I can see those new ones opening. Life did not turn out how I expected, and is a continued struggle, but in many ways is better than I could have hoped! That is truly what defines our God!

Anonymous said...

I currently feel like I am experiencing the death of a hope. I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for as long as I can remember. When my daughter was born in 2009 that hope took on a new meaning. Unfortunately, due to our financial situation, I had to return to work after only being on maternity leave for a month. Too short a time to spend with such a precious gift. Ever since then, my husband and I have been trying to get caught up financially so that I can be with my little one over the next few years until she goes to school. But each time we feel like we are getting close, another disaster hits: my husband gets burned by our outdoor furnace and has to be rushed to the Burn Center and undergo various procedures and surgery, my employer decides that pay cuts are in order to survive in this economy, our daughter has to have emergency surgery to drain an abscess, my husband’s employer decides to lay him off. Through all those calamities, God has held my hand and walked with me (carried me in some circumstances), giving me comfort, peace, love. However, the outcome of all these problems has been financial woe. I have prayed and prayed for my stay-at-home hope to become a reality but with each passing week, my daughter grows up a bit more and I miss a bit more of the whole experience. It breaks my heart to miss this time with her. I wish I could tell you a verse that has spoken life to this death, but I’ve come up empty. And it feels horrible to even mention this when I look at what God has brought me through, but nevertheless, every day when I hug her goodbye, that little death still crushes my heart.
- Jennifer B.

Alissa said...

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Patty said...

I came here from your P31 devotion which spoke so loudly to me today. Death--yes, we are feeling it and your words help me put words to what I was feeling. Death of a dream-of what we once were before adopting 2 teens from China. Death of our family as it used to be....healthy, strong, capable, FUN....safe. Now it feels we are just trying to keep our heads above the water and we are swimming for dear life but barely hanging on. And most people don't "get" it.....so it feels hopeless and help feels limited (unless you are a millionaire!) the resources just aren't there for these kids from hard places who seek to destroy because love is too hard. But I cling to the hope that God is not limited, He gives life and hope. Clinging to His promises we can KNOW we walk in victory because HE is victory. The verse I've been clinging to in our death is Hebrews 10v23
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Blessings to you on your journey,
Patty

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this. This devotion put into words a lot of what I have been feeling this week. When I married my husband a few years ago, I knew he wasn't a strong Christian, but conversations we had gave me hope that might change. And I guess I hoped that somehow I could be an example to him and together, with God's help, he might become the Christian man I had so longed for. Early this week, he informed me he has chosen to no longer believe in God and wants to share this with our 15 year old son who has been raised in the Christian faith. My heart is breaking and I feel like hope has died because of his confession. I am concerned for him, our son and our marriage. I don't know what to do, but I have been continually crying out to God and trying to hold on to faith and a hope that seems fleeting. I know that God is good and that He has a bigger plan than I can't see, but right now I just feel so helpless and at a loss. This devotion gives me courage and a vestige of hope that things will get better. Thanks again for sharing this.

Unknown said...

Nothing like being reminded of God's unfailing love in Isaiah 54:10 - Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

The fact remains, the mountains in my life will be shaken. I will not always quite get the hang of marriage and motherhood. I will get anxious from time to time over dreams yet unfulfilled. But thanks be to God for who He is. HE IS LOVE and His love will never, ever fail me. As long as I cling to His Word for my husband, my child and my dreams, His covenant of peace will remain.

Thanks again Glynnis for your obedience to share God's heart with us!

Unknown said...

I have a dream of making a difference for children that live in poverty. The statistics are overwhelming about poverty and the millions that exist that way, and the small children that are dying of diseases. I think, "How dumb am I to think I can make a difference"? I feel this "death" come over me, that I am living an impossible dream, then somewhere deep down I have to ask myself, am I following "my" dream or God's will for me? I feel so confused! I once read, if you accomplish a possible dream, then you get all the glory, but if you accomplish an impossible dream, then God gets all the glory! So for now, I will not quit dreaming and I will give God all the glory! Thank you Glynnis for reminding me that He is with me and will lead the way! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

Sara said...

Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight." I have not understood all of the deaths big or little in my life. Last year was a long year of removal of just about everything and everybody. We need to accept the "death" and grieve it as such and then allow God access to our heart to heal it. If we don't allow that grief, Satan has a heyday and isolates us from God with the "you should" be able to handle this by yourself. God has now given me a new dream that can only be accomplished thru Him. He just had to get rid of more me.

Stephanie Romero said...

One of the things I have had to accept as "death" is my relationship with my mom. Not in the sense that we don't have one because we do. But in the sense that it will never be what I had hoped for. However God has also spoken to me about the life that replaces that death and it is my relationship with my daughter. What I always wanted with my mom, I can now have with my own daughter.

It makes dealing with my "death" so much easier.

Ana Ramos said...

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. " Isaiah 42:16

My 14 year od step-daughter has been in an inpatient residential facility for adolescent girls for almost a month now. My husband and I just learned this past weekend she has been diagnosed with schizoaffective bipolar disorder. A diagnosis that to me feels like death.

As a family, we have been struggling for some time now to figure out what was going on with her. Now that we may have an answer, I'm not so sure I want it. As I read through your blog today I related to the feelings you expressed. Feelings of uncertainty and disappointment. Not knowing what the days, weeks, months and years ahead may hold for our daughter and our family. Not knowing what this will mean for me and the dreams I am in the process or pursuing. Simply not knowing...

I was encouraged by this scripture because it was a reminder that God is the one leading me, my husband and my family. Though I don't now what may be ahead of us, God does and He is faithful to guide us.

Thank you for your encouraging words. God bless!

Cindy W. said...

The verse that I have clung to oh so many times is "For I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" - 2 Timothy 1:7. When I am at my weakest moments that verse always speaks to my heart.

Smiles & Blessings,
Cindy W.

countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com

Gillian said...

Jeremiah 29:11 always speaks to me when things seem shaky as I know that no matter what happens He has it all under control.

Jos @ keathley{chronicles} said...

Your P31 devotional spoke volumes to me today, as I am struggling with several "deaths" right now...the death of a friend (literal), and the death of a friendship (figurative) that is almost hurting more. I feel like God has resounded to my pleas with a reminder that my hope is in Him alone. Psalm 33:22 & Psalm 25:5 have reaffirmed that. Thank you for your words. He is risen, indeed!

Grace said...

Glynnis,
"For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body." 2Corinthians 4:11
If I'm to be perfectly honest, I hate death. I fear it even as a christian. I have struggled with this for so long. I've shared it with others, and none have come close to explaining it has you did today in your devotion. I see it as dying to self. Just as Jesus said, "Not my will but thine be done." I was allowing the enemy to rob me of my hope;My hope of eternal life with Him.
Right now what i'm having to die to is to be able to see my new grandaughter in Hawaii. I ache to see my daughter and to hold my new grandchild. Some times it is just so overwhelming. My daughter's mother-in-law was there when my granddaughter was born, and I wasn't. I feel like that I've failed her in some way, by not being there.
Thank you again for reminding me to fix my eyes on Jesus.
God Bless.
Grace gplhome@sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

love it.

Anonymous said...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 mheard11@frontier.com

Emily said...

Thank you!! I really appreciate that you mentioned the TIME it took - that you didn't receive an immediate answer to prayer.

So often I read devotions and stories where God takes care of everything immediately, and it makes me feel like I'm less worthy of His attention.

Thank you for the reminder that it is God's timing, and that takes as long as it needs to.

Unknown said...

A friend forwards your blog to me every now & then - when I read yours today, I was relating so much b/c I have grieved the "death" of our "former life" before adopting 2 teens from Latvia into our family. Thank you for encouraging me to ask God to bring LIFE into my heart again where the loss has been. Others have a hard time understanding how difficult it is, especially when we felt so incredibly led to adopt them. God told us to "go with the strength we have & rescue them, for He was sending us." I have held onto that even though daily life is so difficult - we have 4 biological children & b/c "normal parenting" didn't work well with our new kids, we parent slightly differently but it feels unnatural. I feel like I'm in adoption AA - one day at a time. Thank you for your inspiration & helping me. I can't wait to read 2 Cor. 4:10-18 & write out what's bothering me & then hold it up to the truth!

Tammy Nischan said...

Glynnis,

Having walked the road of grief twice when I lost my daughter and then my son, I have clung to about every you can think of in the Bible time and time again.

I love I Thess. 4:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."

Yes, I am still grieving.

But I live with hope. I belong to several support groups online for families who have lost children and I can say honestly that those who do not have the hope of Heaven grieve in a heartbreaking way. I read their words and my heart aches for them.

The hope we find in Jesus is something that cannot be forced upon us, so I pray for those who are grieving without hope.

I love you, Glynnis. Thanks for the devo.

I also wanted to let you know that I am working on the article AND I will be at She Speaks! I'll explain what happened when I see you there!

Have a wonderful Easter!

Tammy :)

Carol said...

Not a scripture, but singing "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. And I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because He lives." reduces me to tears and gives me an incredible feeling of hope and peace. That helped get me through the death of my husband, and it helps today when I'm having a rough day.

Anonymous said...

Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak. Thank you so much for this timely devotional. I have felt a sense of death in me for a few days. I too was not looking forward to this Sunday (and add to this a sense of guilt for feeling this way). My husband's illness takes a toll on my emotions at times but God has conquered death and he has conquered what seems like my emotional death too! Thank you so much for blessing us today! Blessings, Silvia Arvelo

Pamela said...

Your P31 devotion so spoke to me today. These "deaths" that you described so fit my life also. I am taking hope away from this...hope of a resurrection within my own life. Thank you.

Believing Him~Pamela

Molly said...

Isaiah 42:16. Knowing He will make my rough places smooth is a comfort as I grieve the death of my son's marriage and see the pain in his eyes and in the faces of my grandchildren. I struggle with walking out the truth of Jesus when my flesh cries out for anger and resentment. It is a daily (sometimes hourly) surrender to allow Him to control my words and actions. However, I know that truly I can do all things through Christ and I can do NOTHING without Him. My greatest desire is to be a vessel of His love, grace, and mercy to all.
Yes indeed, He is Risen!!

Stacy said...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28. This verse gave me such comfort when going through the loss of my twin baby boys 3 years ago. My husband and I were SO excited to learn we had conceived spontaneous twins, by the grace of God. When I was 23 weeks pregnant we learned they had a rare condition and would need surgery in-utero to survive. Hours before the scheduled procedure, my water broke and we welcomed these precious angels into the world for a short time. Even in those dark moments of holding them, knowing their lives were short, I took great comfort knowing that God had a purpose for this tragedy and they would be with Him in Heaven. In the months that followed, this verse continued to comfort me, reassuring me that my pain and loss was not in vain, but for His greater purpose. I have to say, the tragedy has strengthened my marriage beyond anything I imagined and my husband was baptized shortly after the twins' death. God really is good!