I woke up today to see pouring rain. The sky was dark and the day looked grim. These last couple of months it has become the norm but today was different. Today, my family and I woke up in a hotel room about three hours away from home. It’s been a difficult journey. While my wife and kids waited under the hotel canopy, I ran to get the car. Running through the rain in my black suit felt distinctly odd. We were on our way to celebrate the life of my 91-year-old grandmother. She was a great woman and wonderful grandmother. We are a close family. I don’t have one memory of her that isn’t loving and kind. She and my grandfather were married for 71 years. It’s been a day of immense sadness as we all said our final goodbyes. With her death being a defining moment in our lives, we all had to ask ourselves, where is our hope?
In uncertain times it can be easy to run towards stress, anxiety and worry. Uncertainty is the breeding ground for distress and depression. Without something greater than ourselves to rely on in life, the outlook can look dim.
The pastors who officiated my grandmother’s funeral read from the book of Isaiah 40 in the Bible. “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who created these stars? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
We are told in Isaiah that the God who created us is beyond compare. In our world we compare everything. We compare houses, cars, and peanut butter, but there is nothing that compares to our Maker. His ways surpass all our understanding. He is so great that not only did He create the stars but He knows their names. Every last one of them. There are over a hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone, let alone the rest of the universe. I don’t know about you but I have a hard time remembering what day it is most of the time.
Since God created everything it would be easy to assume we are small and insignificant to Him in His mighty universe. That’s not what Isaiah 40 tells us though. God asks us why we would even think that our lives are meaningless, insignificant and hidden from Him? He reminds us again that He is our everlasting God and the Creator of the ends of the earth. He never grows weary and gives strength to those who believe in Him.
In the last verses of Isaiah 40 we are reminded that God will renew our strength and we will run and not be weary. Where are we running to, though, you might ask? Hebrews 12:1-2, which are some of my favorite verses, tells us. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” We are running to win the race. The race is to Jesus. He is the finish line of our race and He is the reward. In return you will have the strength to finish the race and the peace to endure the trials which will come your way.
Life is full of uncertainty and difficult times. We can find it everywhere we turn. We can find it at the funeral home. We can find it in a time of chaos amidst a worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. In times such as these where is our hope? Isaiah reminds us where we find our hope. We find our hope in the promises of our Creator. He tells us our lives are not hidden from Him. He cares for us. He loves us. This month marks our reminder of that love more than ever. Easter, which falls on April 12th, 2020 reminds us God’s love was so strong that He gave up His Son to die on the cross for you and me, taking on the weight of our sins. Our hope is also knowing that three days later Jesus defeated death. As believers of what Jesus has done for us, we not only receive the Holy Spirit as our daily guide, but we will one day get to spend eternity with Christ in heaven.
March 11, 2020 marked the day my family buried my grandmother but our hope is knowing that she is fully alive with Christ in Heaven. It was a hard day for all of us but as believers in Christ we know it isn’t our final goodbye. This is just our temporary home and we will see her again. One thing I won’t forget about today is that my grandfather said several times at the end of the funeral, that his bride was a winner. He wasn’t trying to brag on the number of medals grandmother won in her life. I knew what he meant. We all did. He was saying that grandmother had run her race well and she made it to the finish line. She ran with endurance, following Christ all of her days, to finally make it home.
-by Dr. Brandon Crouch
About the Author: Dr. Brandon Crouch, D.C. is a Chiropractor with Crouch Family Chiropractic (www.crouchfamilychiro.com). If you have questions or comments Dr. Crouch can be reached at 270-842-1955 or via email at: office@crouchfamilychiro.hush.com.
