How deep is His love

These past weeks have been hard.  Ten days ago, there was the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.  Then there was the nuclear crisis there as well.  Along with all of this rocking the world, in some cases quite literally, things were going on in the personal lives of some of the people I know.  Last Tuesday night one of our church elders was taken to the hospital with stroke-like symptoms.  He couldn't speak properly, and over the course of a few days we found out that he was sick with herpesviral encephalitis.  It's a very serious disease, and we didn't know whether he would live or not.  Then, last Wednesday morning, we got another phone call and found out that one of our church father's had lost his father that morning.  His dad had very poor health, but they still weren't expecting his death quite so soon.

Yet even in the midst of all of this, there is hope.  In Japan, we know that God is taking care of those people just as He sees fit, even though we don't understand it.  This morning our church elder was released from the hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery.  And for the family who lost a father and a grandfather, there is the promise that they will see him again in Heaven.  Just a few years ago he came to Christ, and they are looking forward to not only seeing Jesus in His kingdom, but seeing this man too.

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'

Jeremiah 29:11-14

How great is His love!