In a message to the 2002 graduates of Cedarville University, Dr. Paul Dixon encouraged them with these words: Your times are in Gods hands. Our family listened and thought it was appropriate for the graduates, which included our daughter Julie.
We had no idea that in 5 days our 17-year-old Melissa would graduate to heaven through a car accidentand we would be left to recall with new meaning that thought from Psalm 31:15.
Over the years, we have become painfully aware that in Gods mysterious ways, He has planned for some Christians a life that is short. I think of one young Christian girl, the kind with a smile for everyone, who had a sore fingerand a week later was dead from a raging infection. Or the young believer who was killed while playing softball when a ball hit her in the neck. Or the teen boy who loved Jesus and fishingand died when a car hit him as he rode his bike home from the fishing hole. Melissa, Heather, Maggie, and Thomas. In their short lives, they created a legacy of faith in Jesus and love for others. They were ready when His time for them had come.
I trust in You, the psalmist said, recognizing that his life was in Gods hands alone (vv.14-15). Are you trusting God for whatever comes next on your calendar?
Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42