If I Don’t See You Again
GCD Weekly Newsletter 08/15/2022
I dialled the phone knowing it was probably the last time I would ever speak with her. My granny had been sick, but now her health was rapidly declining. It was a struggle for her to catch her breath, which often caused her to panic. Selfishly, I didn’t want to hang up knowing her time was short, but just speaking on the phone was such a chore for her.
With tears swelling in my eyes, I told her goodbye and that I loved her. I knew it was my last goodbye, but I didn’t know if she thought that so I didn’t say it out loud so as not to discourage her. However, her next phrase made it clear she understood. She told me, “If I don’t see you again in this life, I’ll see you in heaven.”
After our conversation, I pleaded to the Lord to show her mercy and either heal her or take her home. I couldn’t stand to know she was suffering. A few days later she passed.
She told me she was ready to be with the Lord. She believed the gospel and had lived a life of faithful devotion to God. She had endured many hardships, experienced much loss (including the murder of my father), and yet she endured it all with an ironclad faith. I miss her, but thankful she is now fully experiencing the Lord and all he has promised for those who love him.
The older I get, the more I realize that much of the Christian life is about endurance. Life in this fallen world is not easy, but our hope is in the promise of God to hold us fast through it all. Throughout the way, we’ll certainly have questions and wonder about the best way to proceed. The articles from GCD these past two weeks will, Lord willing, encourage you to endure and help you think through some of the issues we face in this time God has entrusted to us.
Recently at GCDiscipleship.com
What Your Eyes Have Seen
— by Brianna Lambert (lookingtotheharvest.com)
“The importance of our eyes saturates Scripture. From the first few pages we get a glimpse of the forbidden fruit in the garden that delighted Eve’s eyes. It’s clear the Lord knows what we see in his world affects us. He created us in this manner after all. As we were knit together in the womb, the Lord graciously weaved our frame to include a body that discerns the world through the gift of sight.”
How to Use Our Digital Devices (An Excerpt from Digital Dominion)
— by Jeff Mingee (@jeffmingee)
“While I certainly understand, and sometimes applaud, a reasoned retreat or season of disconnecting from the digital world, I also feel a sense of remorse when wise Christians check out of the digital sphere. It’s one less light in a very dark space. One less missionary on a very lost field. We need their voice not their vacancy.”
How Should Pastors Answer the Question, ‘Is Christianity Good?’
(An Excerpt from The Unwavering Pastor)
— by Jonathan Dodson (@Jonathan_Dodson / jonathandodson.org)
“These three issues—sex, race, and gender—are the issues of our time. Each one was supercharged by a lightning rod event, which occurred within the span of five years, placing tremendous weight on ministry leaders. Yet, beneath these questions is an even deeper question: Is Christianity good? People want to know if the new life Christianity offers is actually a good life.”
When It Seems the Lord is Sleeping
— by James Williams (@j_williams72 / Growing in Grace)
“Instead of crushing waves, we’re overcome by problems at work that seem to be without a solution. Stress and complications flood our life, and we are on the verge of drowning.
And the Lord seems to be asleep, doing nothing.”
A Life Changed by Preaching (An Excerpt from Spurgeon the Pastor)
— by Geoffrey Chang (@geoffchang)
“But now, sitting there in the pew, dripping wet, Spurgeon understood for the first time that faith was not doing anything for Christ but looking to Christ as your all-sufficient Savior.”
Letters to the Editor
We’d love to hear from you. Please send feedback about our articles (or anything else!) to our managing editor at Benjamin@GCDiscipleship.com. And if you’ll allow us, we’ll share your comments in future emails.
The GCD Writer’s Guild
Here at GCD, we run a small social network catered to Christian writers. As a writer myself, I know that it can often feel like a thankless and solitary task, and it sometimes leads me to believe the lie I must be the only one experiencing that. If you’re a writer and you feel like that too, the GCD Writer’s Guild is for you. We provide regular writing prompts, we help to provide each other helpful critique, and we champion and cheer on the work of other writers in the Guild. We welcome writers of every level, from communicators who are just getting started to published authors. Our aim is to encourage and help each other along in saying what is good, true, and beautiful and to create a culture that glorifies Christ.
If you’d like to join, or you simply want to know more, click here for more details:
In Christ,
James Williams