Friends, today I’d like to talk about ‘Letting Go’. Friends, you all do know by now that I am a dedicated christian and I love my Saviour dearly. So today I would like to talk to people who have lost a loved one, especially if you are having a hard time ‘letting go’. Friends, I am addressing this letter as if you are a fellow believer and have faith in Jesus. If you do not or are not I encourage you to give your heart to Jesus and pray you can find solace within this letter.
Friends, some topics are hard to ‘hear’ about and I am pleading with you all to ‘hear me out’. In writing this letter I do have in mind particularly the end of time, fellow believers will know and understand that I am talking about the period of time just before Jesus’ second coming. (If you do not know or believe I encourage you to open your Bibles and search out the gems therein.) As it says in prophecy there will only be a small number of people remaining, waiting and faithful when Jesus comes, therefore there is going to be a lot of ‘loss’ just prior to this event. Friends, Jesus is a God of love and we will discuss this during the letter, we can also relate this letter to the loss of loved ones in general, please don’t ‘assume’ that because your loved one died today it was because of the ‘time of trouble’, friends Jesus has the answer and we need to learn to trust His judgement and have faith in Him.
In regard to the ‘time of trouble’, we have all heard about it, we have all read about it and friends, I believe it is right on our doorstep, this world as we know it is breaking apart and violence runs rampant, it is not safe here anymore and I strongly believe Jesus is on hand to lift us up and take us home.
Jesus is a God of love and mercy and He is trying to ‘prepare’ the way for us, to ‘soften’ the blow. We are talking about the time of trouble here, it’s not going to be a walk in the park, and it wouldn’t be kind of Jesus to put anyone through unless they had the ability to go the distance. We need to look beyond the grave, we will see our loved ones again, we are fighting for heaven, it is a small thing to lay aside our treasures for a season, especially as we know we will have them returned once the fight is over, it’s time to ‘Let Go’.
Friends, I know this topic is ‘hard to hear’, I have heard people say “I couldn’t bear to see my children die” or “If anyone has to die, please let it be me”. Let’s go to a quote from Ellen White. (Please see our ‘terms’ to read the write up about Ellen White.)
Ellen White:-
“…yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race…” (Patriarchs and Prophets 63.3)
What if God the Father had requested to die before His Son?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Ellen White:-
“…oh, the mystery of redemption! The love of God for a world that did not love Him! Who can know the depths of that love which “passeth knowledge?” (Patriarchs and Prophets 63.3)
Friends, I believe we often do misunderstand the love of God, does our love for our children outweigh our love of God? Jesus loves us dearly and He wants to prepare us for trials ahead. Jesus is aware of our love for our loved ones (partner, children) and he respects us greatly for our love and devotion but we are in danger of taking them out of the hands of the Creator. Please friends, I can’t stress enough, Jesus loves our partners/children greatly and it is for this reason (children especially) that He is asking you to let them go. God the Father let His Son go because He loves us now He is asking you to let your loved ones go because you love Jesus. So, when death comes knocking please friends, look to Jesus and don’t forget His promise:- (whether it is in relation to the time of trouble or not.)
Ellen White:-
“…He knows the end from the beginning. Many will be laid away to sleep before the fiery ordeal of the time of trouble shall come upon our world.” (Counsels on Health 375.2)
“The Lord has often instructed me that many little ones are to be laid away before the time of trouble. We shall see our children again. We shall meet them and know them in the heavenly courts.” (Selected Messages 2:259.5)
Friends, God is a God of love and mercy, there is a reason behind every move He makes but we don’t necessarily get answers as to why? The following excerpt has come from the letter ‘How Can I Believe?’
“Friends, the father is Jesus and we are the child. How often in our lives do we ask our children to just trust us without giving a reason why. We can see the answer and we can see our children don’t need to shoulder that concern, so we protect them by ‘hiding’ the truth and just asking our children to trust us. Friends, as parents we expect our children to respect our decisions and to trust us – but – do we give our Father in heaven the same courtesy?”
Friends, please as we discuss this tender subject, remember that Jesus is our Father and He is constantly looking out for our wellbeing, He loves us dearly, He died for us. Death is going to come, if it has not already, the devil is going to be on hand to cast reproach upon God and torment us, friends, please when the devil comes knocking shut the door in his face and lean on Jesus.
Friends, I would like to mention here my personal testimony. Dad died and it broke my heart, dad had been my strength and suddenly he was gone, the darkness closed in around me like a storm cloud, but in the darkness I found my Lord and with Jesus beside me I made my way out of the darkness. Friends, what I am trying to say is there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light is Jesus. The darkness that Satan presses upon us when a loved one dies is incredible and I believe that this pressure from the devil does and has the potential to send people mad. People have dropped into the pit of despair never to rise, others have gone on to kill and maim, all because of the devil. Friends, there is hope after death and I think one of the main points we neglect to consider is the person/child who died. They are out of this world of pain, they are out of the reach of the devil and they will be resurrected on that beautiful resurrection morning to life forever more, their pains are gone and the children will have the privilege of growing up in heaven.
Friends, there is peace in death we just have to trust Jesus and ‘Let Go’. Jesus will comfort us and he has promised that we will be reunited with our loved ones once again. Let’s go to a few relevant Bible verses to close with. Firstly in relation to the end of time (the second coming of Jesus).
Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours;…”
God’s promise that we will be reunited with our loved ones again.
1st Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
I would like to end this letter today with some very relevant quotes from Ellen White. May the love of God go with you and I pray you find peace.
Ellen White:-
“Then Jesus’ silver trumpet sounded, as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire. He gazed on the graves of the sleeping saints, then raised His eyes and hands to heaven, and cried, “Awake! awake! awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise.” Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted “Alleluia!” as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 59.1)
“The living righteous are changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels “gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.” (Great Controversy 645.1)