A few years ago, I had a dream in which I found myself inside the mind
of a dying man.
 The man had been in a coma for some time; his family
had been praying, but they did not know whether or not he had accepted
Christ. All they were sure of is that, throughout his life, he had
resisted their efforts to lead him to Christ.
In
the dream, I became so acutely aware of the man's state of mind that
his thoughts, feelings and struggles almost seemed my own. Although his
eyes were nearly closed and his vision clouded, he could see his loved
ones at his bedside. I watched as he tried to reach toward his family,
but outwardly his arm never lifted. Perceiving his thoughts, I heard
him speak their names, but no sound whispered through his lips. A loved
one holding his hand asked, "If you hear me, squeeze." He heard and
pressed his fingers against hers, but no movement was seen; his hand
clearly remained limp. He was conscious, he could hear their prayers,
he felt the warmth of their kisses on his face, but was perfectly
incapable of responding.
The
pride and isolation that had, throughout his life, stood guard over his
heart were gone. A physical catastrophe had overtaken him. Death
approached, and he knew he was unprepared for eternity. Submerged
beneath his placid exterior, a war had raged for his soul, which the
Lord won. Subdued by the relentlessness of God’s love, he was finally
at peace. It was during his time in the hospital that he had silently
prayed and accepted Christ as his Savior. I was watching his last
effort to tell them as life ebbed out of his body.
Suddenly,
monitoring alarms ripped through the muffled silence of the room. His
heart beat one last time and I found myself looking down at the body of
a man who had just died. The room was buzzing with nurses, while his
family huddled in a corner, grieving. The idea of their loved one dying
without receiving Christ was more devastating than the reality of death
itself. I stirred and then woke. Yet, just as I left the dream, the
Lord spoke to my heart,
"Tell them he’s with Me."
God is Good
Although
some time has passed since I first had this dream, I am increasingly
aware that many of God’s people carry a deep abiding heartache
concerning the death of an unsaved loved one. Obviously, this dream
does not apply to all, but there are some for whom this experience is
divinely directed. Thus, I submit this to you in a general sense,
because the Holy Spirit has assured me He will bear witness to your
heart.
I
have also felt an urgency to pass this dream to you. I am convinced
that the Lord has an important work for you. However, the enemy has
used this unresolved loss to sow doubt into your soul. Not only are
you troubled about your deceased loved one, but you have doubts about
God’s love as well as the power of prayer. As a result, your
confidence in God has diminished. Yet, it is precisely at this time
that you need to stand without doubt for other members of your family.
Beloved,
though there are many questions about the mysteries of life, we must
not let the unknown obscure the face of the known. God is good. We
know God loves us because He sent His Son to die for our sins. Indeed,
Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). When
we look at Christ, we see God, and we know that God cares and He is
good.
Additionally,
some of us have lost loved ones in sudden tragedies, where they
seemingly had no time to repent or turn to God. Let me remind you of
those who have faced near-death experiences and tell of seeing their
“life flash before [their] eyes.” They say that the progressive
movement of time almost stopped. I believe that, even in what seemed
like a “sudden” death, time itself slowed to a crawl. There apparently
was enough time in this altered state to see and ponder one’s life -
and to make a decision or even call upon the name of the Lord.
In
spite of what we do not know about the mysteries of life, one thing
remains eternally true: God is our loving Father. He does not desire
that any man perish and He will fight to save us, even to the moment of
our death. Let us, therefore, cast our burdens upon the Lord, for He
genuinely cares for us. And let us again run with endurance the race
set before us, for He has promised, “the people who were sitting in
darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the . . .
shadow of death, upon them a light dawned” (Matt. 4:16).
Lord
Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Lord, there are many issues I
do not know, but I do know that You are good. Those things I do not
understand, I give to You. I trust You with my life and I put in Your
hands the care of those I love.
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