Experiencing Death and Life, With Jesus by My Side!

I recently had a couple of experiences where unexpected bad new, was followed by surprising good news. I might describe these as two situations where death became life, a kind of “resurrection.” First, on Thursday, March 27, while fishing on Orange Lake, my trolling motor acted up. I tried a minor fix with no luck. Then, when I got out of the water, the motor itself was not straight like it should be, but extending outward at an angle. In addition, a gasket which keeps water out of the electric brushes was bulging. If water gets into those brushes, the motor dies. Sigh! There is an authorized repairman for my trolling motor right around the corner from our Gainesville home, and I brought my motor there after leaving the lake. “What happened?” he asked. “I’ve never seen anything like this!” Coming from the repairman, that is not good! I was worried I had killed this vital tool for my Florida fishing trips. And, with the motor in the shop, it also meant that I missed fishing on Saturday and Sunday.

However, on Thursday evening, after dropping off my trolling motor for repair, and then after returning home from a Mission and Ministry Council meeting, I received what was truly bad news. Fishing and boats are only a hobby. But, I received really bad news about a friend of mine, Pastor Phil Kuehnert. Phil and I served congregations in Alaska at the same time. Even though he retired over 15 years ago, we still keep in touch with one another. Phil and I talked on the phone last year. In January Kathy and I received a written response to our Christmas letter from Phil. In the last month Phil and I discussed some other issues. We may live a long distance from one another, but we still keep up with each other. Yet, on Thursday evening we received word that Phil had returned home from a visit to the hospital emergency room for serious heart issues. He was off medication, on oxygen, on hospice care, and expecting to pass away soon. Phil has always liked hymns. The message from Phil’s daughter, informing us of this sad news, quoted an old hymn to inform us of Phil’s return home, “In joyful hope to die.” Kathy and I grieved the final days of our good friend.

However, in both of these cases, the bad new turned good, at least for a while. On Monday I received unexpected good news about my trolling motor. The repairman called me. He had expected to find big problems with my motor and did not believe he would even have the parts on hand for the repair. But, he had found little trouble, and replaced a bent part, performed a little tuning up, and for a very minimal charge my motor was working well. I was surprised. It was like my dead motor had come back to life. I took my motor, mounted it on my boat, and I went fishing. I had to celebrate this bad news turned good!

Then Monday evening I read another e-mail message concerning my friend, Phil. This e-mail was not from Phil’s daughter, but from Phil himself! He explained that he had returned home off sustaining medication, fully expecting for the Lord to call him home in a couple of weeks. But, On Saturday he felt better, and Sunday, he felt better still. I did not pray about my trolling motor, but I have prayed daily for Phil since first hearing of his seriously ill health. Yet, what I prayed for was God’s strength for my friend in his last days. This message delivered news of a real return to life from death, if even for a short time. Kathy and I rejoiced at the good news.

In truth, because of the frequent trials of life, we expect to receive bad news from time to time. However, when good news comes, it is often a surprise. I believe I “re-learned” a few lessons from my recent experiences.

One of those lessons is that I do not know what the future holds, but I do know WHO holds the future. Because God has come into my life, I need to be prepared for life to go better at times than I expect.

Secondly, I’m not sure exactly how to describe how God acted in these two situations, but . . . I do see the hand of my Lord at work! When I prayed for my friend and things went better than expected, that is not just a coincidence. I should not be surprised when the Lord blesses my life with good. Yet, at times I am surprised.

Finally, we will soon observe and celebrate the most important death and resurrection in history. The death of Jesus, the Son of God, and His rising to life from death in a grave, were both a surprise to His followers and the people of His day. Jesus’ disciples should have known better, but they were surprised, shocked at His arrest. They were stunned by His sham trial. They were overwhelmed at his crucifixion and death on the cross. Neither should the disciples have been surprised at Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus had told them that that these things would happen, that all of this was God’s plan to save the world. We hear Jesus teach His disciples in Matthew 16, and other places. “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21) Bad news was coming, because the Son of God, the Messiah, would die for the sin of the world. But, good news, better news, would follow as Jesus would rise on the third day defeating sin and death.

The Lord sees us through the overwhelming surprises when life goes badly. The Lord is also there to surprise us with good news of His eternal love in the midst of life’s sorrows. When I know that God works in this way, I can face ANYTHING!

I saw the presence of our Lord this past week. I know the presence and salvation of God when hope seems lost. But, in the midst of the bad news of life, we have hope in the resurrection of Jesus. That is no mistake!