LOSS OF A CHILD - NYOBS 77.20

LOSS OF A CHILD

Miscarriage – Still birth – Accident – Medical - Suicide

First Word

·         The death of a child is like a period placed before the end of a sentence. - There's nothing as devastating as the loss of a child.

·         There was a little girl born into our family February 2, 1908 who was named Itty Bitty because she was so tiny and soon died.  Even though she only lived five months, her name was passed down through the generations in memoirs of love and lament and remembered over 100 years later. – Why is that?  - A child was born, loved, prayed over and died. -

·         As parents, we naturally expect our children to outlive us and to lose a child is just an out of order event; a life-altering experience. -There are many emotions felt by those who have lost a child; feelings of indescribable suffering, pain and loss.  Nothing can alleviate that pain except for the love of family, friends, the passing of time and the consolation from the Lord.

·         How can anyone tell someone else how to handle the death of their child, especially when they have never lost a child? – Everyone handles their grief differently; no parent ever just moves on and gets over the death of a child although the intensity diminishes with time.

·         The Book says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and that it is not God’s will that any little one should perish; but when they do, in the finality of things, it will work together for good for those that love the Lord. – Every moment the child lived was already laid out before a single day of his life had passed. – It’s in the Book -

Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (NLT)

Matthew 18:14 – It is not God’s will that a child should die
¹⁴ In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish. (NLT)

Psalm 139:16 - Every moment was laid out before the first day

¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (NLT)

Ephesians 1:11 – All things happen according to HIS purpose
¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of HIS WILL, (ESV)

Romans 8:28 – All things work together for Good.
²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

(ESV)

Revelation 21:4 – One Day - No more sorrow nor crying
⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

(NKJV)

God’s Sovereignty

·         Because God is sovereign, He knows the life decisions of a still born or a new born baby even before they were formed in the womb and knows when they will die. - There are no accidents or surprises with God – God knows -

·         When the Serpent came to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and began his treachery, God could have stopped him and there would have been no sin, NO DEATH. - God did not sanction the evil, but He did not stop it either. - In choosing to not stop it, He ordained it. – So in essence, God has esteemed it good that evil, sorrow and troubles should be allowed to happen in this world. 

·         When you say “who’s the blame” for Itty Bitty’s death, it denotes wrong doing, it implies accountability, but God is not accountable to anyone. - The Potter is not accountable to the vessel; He makes out of the clay whatever He chooses. – We as a finite being cannot judge an infinite God.

• When Itty Bitty was born, God knew that she would die and didn’t stop it, so in essence God esteemed it good that she should die and allowed it to happen.
• In the Book it says that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts - Job said that “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” and for sure THAT’S WHAT JOB BELIEVED; but what Job believed was not true. (Job 1:21)  - NYOBS 02.37 – WHY DID GOD TEST JOB
• The Book is clear that God wants us to have life. -  He sent Jesus so that we would have life and have more of it. - God does not take life away, but devises ways to bring the sinner back to Him.

• Satan’s work on earth is to Kill, steal and destroy – Christ came to destroy Satan’s works. - Death is the result of the original sin in the Garden of Eden; eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. – Christ came to give us a way back to the other tree in the Garden of Eden, “the Tree of Life”.  - So it is not God that takes life away, death is the direct result of the original sin and disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

Romans 9:21 – The Potter is not accountable to the vessel
²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? (NASB)

John 16:33 – God says you will have many trials and sorrows

³³ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (NLT)

Isaiah 55:8-9 - My ways; far beyond anything you can imagine
⁸ My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (NLT)

John 10:10 Satan – Comes to kill steal and destroy
¹⁰ The thief comes only to STEAL and KILL and DESTROY. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (ESV)

Job 1:21 – Job believed WRONGLY God gives, and takes away
²¹ saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh. (HCSB)

Miscarriage Empty Arms

·         The news of a losing your child through a miscarriage is painful, gut-wrenching and devastating - Sadness, anxiety, GUILT and BLAME often occur afterwards. - What possible good can come from carrying a child six weeks and then it dies; is God so cruel that He would allow such a thing to happen? - How can any good come from a baby dying leaving the parents grief stricken?

·         Thoughts lying in my bed, hoping to wake up the next morning to find out that everything had been a horrible nightmare and what had transpired would fade from my recollection quickly and painlessly.

·         When an abnormality is detected in the body, the growth of the child is halted, and a miscarriage is the result. It can be caused by problems with the immune system, uterine, hormonal abnormalities, and other issues; most importantly God is not MAD at you; the Believer is NOT under any condemnation; so God didn’t do it. - It’s in the Book -

·         The most common symptom of a miscarriage is vaginal bleeding with or without pain. Tissue and clot-like material may leave the uterus and pass through and out of the vagina. About 80% of miscarriages occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (the first trimester). The underlying cause in about half of cases involves chromosomal abnormalities; it’s not an attack from Satan, and God didn’t do it; STUFF JUST HAPPENS.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 – The mystery of a tiny baby; activity of God
⁵ Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or

THE MYSTERY of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

(NLT)

Matthew 5:4 – God will comfort those who mourn for their child
⁴ God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

(NLT)

Psalm 34:18 – God is close to the crushed; the brokenhearted
¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (NLT)

Romans 8:28 – The loss of a child will eventually work for good
²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

Psalm 34:1-7 – I prayed to God and He heard me
¹ I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.
² I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart.
³ Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.
⁴ I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
⁶ In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
⁷ For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. (NLT)

Lamentations 3:33 – God does not enjoy causing sorrow
³³ For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow (NLT)

Philippians 4:6-7 - Pray about everything tell God what you need
⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Romans 8:1 – The Believer is under no condemnation from God
¹ So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Death of a Child

·         I felt the air being sucked out of the room as my legs turned to rubber. - My son was doubled over the casket of his son, only 21, killed in an auto accident. 

·         My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What good can possibly come from a young person leaving behind an unfinished life? – Not finishing his education and getting that good job or getting married and having children, or carrying on the family name, or a hundred other possible things.

·         We see so much violence in electronic games as well as on TV – people die all the time, all over the world – sickness - disease – famine - accidents – drive by shootings – meanness – evil - war. - We are just numb to it.

·         What is not portrayed is the aftermath; the family that is left behind – the devastation and the agony; the pain. - The memories and GUILT. – Then the Blame Game begins in the mind. - Could I have done something differently? - Is it somehow my fault or did God do it or was it Satan? – Feelings of loneliness; where is God in all of this?

·         The Book says God takes notice at the loss of your child, He saw him when he was being formed in the darkness of the womb and called his name and planned good things for him. – Regardless of when a child dies, the plan for which he was created will be accomplished.

Psalm 139:13-15 - You saw me being formed in utter darkness
¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. (NLT)

Isaiah 49:1- From within the womb He called your child by name
¹ Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb He called me by name. (NLT)

Jeremiah 1:5 – God knew your child before he was formed
⁵ I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (NLT)

Jeremiah 29:11 – God’s plan for your child is FOR GOOD
¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Waves of Emotions

• Death is irrevocable and irreversible - It’s like the music just stopped in the middle of a song playing. – A flower with the blossom cut off – Why God, Why? -- I didn’t spend enough time with him and now all I have is time. - “Good Grief”
• Does he know how much he took from me when he left - This didn’t happen to someone else on TV, it happened to me.  I’m not on the bank of the river watching the water pass by; I’m in the water – I’m drowning - People come up to speak a word of encouragement – I hate it when they do that – I hate it when they don’t. – I’m a mess -
• The pain is like the canopy of the sky – Everywhere I look, I remember. – It repeats over and over again; wave after wave of mixed emotions. - God may have been finished with him, but I wasn’t.  - Oh, the hurt -
• For no reason certain smells, sounds, music, laughter or a word can bring tears to my eyes. I have weird dreams - I feel a faint nausea - utter mad words - have resentment – my chest tightens – my heart flutters.  - My body can tolerate suffering 10 times more than my mind. - Why Lord, Why? – NYOBS 06.14 - DEATH
• I speak words of love and endearment into the air.  My thoughts jump off into the depths of my mind, not even hearing those speaking to me. - I want to pray for him, but what can I pray – I sing praises to God and somehow I feel I am enjoying him. - I know for sure he is with the Father. – I am progressing day by day.

My sorrow is not a “state”, it’s a process.

John 16:20-23 - I have sorrow now, but I will see you again
²⁰ I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.
²¹ It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
²² So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
²³ At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. (NLT)

King David

·         King David’s child was born with a deadly illness and David went through a terrible time of grief and pain; praying and fasting for seven long days and then the baby died.  His story sets an example of what our response should be to the loss of a child.

·         The First thing David did was to PRAY FERVENTLY for his child, which is something we should do in good times as well as troubling times; seeking Godly wisdom and guidance, asking God to watch over them. - Bring your child up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord and direct their steps on the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

·         The Second thing David did was go to church and WORSHIPPED GOD, acknowledging and accepting the death of his child; David gave it all over to God, turning loose of what he could not change.

·         The Third thing David did was ACKNOWLEDGE that the child could not come back to him from the grave, but was confident that he would one day go to be with him in heaven.

2 Samuel 12:15-24 – I’ll go to him, but he cannot return to me
¹⁵ After Nathan returned to his home, the LORD sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife.
¹⁶ David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground.
¹⁷ The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.
¹⁸ Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?”
¹⁹ When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
²⁰ Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate.
²¹ His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”
²²  David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.’
²³  But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”
²⁴ Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved the child (NLT)

Judges 13:12 – Seek God for direction in your child’s life
¹² So Manoah asked him (The Angel), “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”

(NLT)

Ephesians 6:4 – Teach them discipline and instruction from God

⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. (NLT)

Proverbs 22:6 – Direct their path while they are young
⁶ Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (NLT)

Revelation 21:4 – God will wipe away my tears
⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (NLT)

1 Samuel 1:27-28 - Now I am giving him to the LORD
²⁷ I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request.
²⁸ Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.  (NLT)

Children in Heaven

·         Children of Christian parents do not automatically go to heaven because their parents are saved; - Hold that thought - 

·         In the search for answers when you have lost a child, many people say that babies are innocent because they cannot understand sin, therefore they are automatically in Heaven, but that's just not what the Book says; Understanding sin is not a requirement for being under the penalty of death for sin.  

·         The Book tells us the true nature of Children.  - Psalms says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity" and "The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies".

·         Every baby is born with a sin nature even though they haven’t done anything wrong yet; their nature is still sinful and there are just no exceptions.  Although babies are born in sin, they HAVE NOT REJECTED the saving blood of Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross.   

·         As a child grows to a place in their life where they have the opportunity to consider Spiritual things and THEN REJECT GOD; they are condemned by their own actions, but babies, on the other hand while guilty of having a sin nature, have not weighed the evidence of God and rejected Him, their lack of understanding does not deter the saving grace of Jesus.

Psalm 51:5 – We are born sinners
⁵ For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. (NLT)

Psalm 58:3 – From birth we have gone our own sinful ways
³ These wicked people are born sinners; even from birth they have lied and gone their own way (NLT).

An Unfinished Life

• Jesus was only 33 years of age when He died. - From His followers and His’s family’s point of view, Jesus had an unfinished life, but His Father in Heaven said, the plan for which He was created was completed.  – Jesus Himself spoke those last words; “It is finished”.

·         God not only sympathizes with our suffering and grief, but also empathizes with us because He also has gone through an indescribable loss of His only begotten Son Jesus. Imagine God watching the mocking, beatings and the agonizing staggering walk carrying His own cross arm to be crucified and then having ALL of our sins dumped on Him & then dying.

·         God allows, ordains and permits Stuff to happen; Satan, Demons and mankind is allowed to exercise their LIMITED Free Will to do the greatest good, as well as their greatest wickedness.  The results are used according to His purpose, His plan and His will. – All of these things will work together for Good for those that love the Lord. – It’s in the Book -

·         The devastating loss of a child leads a parent to feel alone and abandoned by the Lord. - God looks for ways to bring solace and consolation to us, His heart grieves in the midst of those times with those who are suffering.- The Book is a tool that God uses to COMFORT us during these times of unspeakable mourning and grief.

·         God does not inflict suffering on us as punishment, however He does allow things to come into our lives that by our reactions will bring Him glory. The Book says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. - Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”

Isaiah 55:11 – God’s plan for your child will be accomplished
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (ASV)

Isaiah 41:10 - I will strengthen you and help you
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (NLT)

Revelation 21:3-4 – God will wipe away every tear
³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.
⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (NLT)

Isaiah 26:3 – With thoughts on God you will be in perfect peace
³ You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

(NLT)

Isaiah 41:10 – With you, strengthens you, helps you, hold you
¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

(NLT)

1 Samuel 1:27-28 - Now I am giving him to the LORD
²⁷ I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request.
²⁸ Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life.” And they worshiped the LORD there.  

(NLT)

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 – We’re comforted so we can comfort others
³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
⁵ For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

(NLT)

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – Fix your gaze things that last forever
¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

(NLT)

John 16:33 - I have told you this so that you may have peace
³³ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

(NLT)

Suicide

• Suicide is murder - It is not condoned in scripture, it’s a sin - However it’s NOT the un-pardonable sin – This sin can be forgiven. - Many people have thoughts of suicide – Like their life is over – Like they are nothing to anybody and would just be better off dead. – They have nothing to live for.
• Death is an escape – The end of weariness – The end of physical as well as mental pain – The end of hating yourself or your life – The end of guilt over your actions. – Death will finally bring peace and quiet and rest from the turmoil.
• These thoughts are much more common than you might think, people just don’t tell you what they are thinking.
• These thoughts are not sin, but they didn’t come from God either.  Satan is the trickster.  He came to kill, steal and destroy. – Many a good man in the Book has had these thoughts; Jonah, Job, Elijah, Moses and Paul – Consider yourself in good company.
• Assisted Suicide – Jonah knew it was wrong to take his own life, so he asked others to throw him off the ship to calm the sea. – King Saul asked someone else to take his life.
• Paul said that while he would prefer to leave this world, that it would be far better for his family if he stayed.
• Job’s thoughts - I am including scripture from the Book of just a few of the thoughts that were going through Job’s troubled mind. - Some of these thoughts just may have been the very thing you are thinking. – But remember in the end, Job was restored.
• You are not alone – It’s God’s will that you have life and to have it more abundantly.

It’s in the Book -

Jerimiah 8:3 – When things are bad, people will consider death.

3 Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LORD Almighty.'

NIV

Rev 9:6 – When Life goes wrong – people seek death to escape.

6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

NIV

2 Corinthians 5:8 – Paul preferred to die and be with Christ

8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

NIV

Philippians 1:23-24 – I’m torn, but its better I stay here

23 I (Paul) am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

NIV

Numbers 11:15 – Moses felt dejected. – preferred to die

15 If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now--if I have found favor in your eyes--and do not let me face my own ruin." NIV

1 Kings 19:4 – Elijah felt his life meaningless and wanted to die

4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors. NIV

Jonah 4:8 – Jonah thought he had failed God – Wanted to die

8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

NIV

Job 3:1 – Job said, I hate the day I was born

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

NIV

Job 3:11-13 - I wish I had died at birth – I would be at peace

11 "Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?

13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest NIV

Job 3:16-17 – I wish I had been stillborn – I would be at rest

16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?

17 There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. NIV

Job 6:8-11 – Crush me – I have no hope

8 "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for,

9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 Then I would still have this consolation- my joy in unrelenting pain- that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 "What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?

NIV

Job 7:1-3 – I am in misery – longing for the end of the day.

1 "Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man?

2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,

3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. NIV

Job 7:15-16 – My life has no meaning – I despise it.

15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.

16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

NIV

Job 10:1 – I hate my life

"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint

and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

NIV

John 10:10 – God wants you to have life – Satan wants you dead

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. KJV

Last Thoughts

·         Because God is sovereign, He knows the life decisions of a new born baby even before they were formed in the womb and knows when they will die. - There are no accidents or surprises with God. – Every moment the child lived was already laid out before a single day of his life had passed.– God knows -

·         God does not inflict suffering on us as punishment, however He does allow things to come into our lives that by our reactions will bring Him glory. The Book says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. - Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”

·         God not only sympathizes with our suffering and grief, but also empathizes with us because He also has gone through an indescribable loss of His only begotten Son Jesus.

·         There is no time limit on your recovery, nor a day passing without remembrance. - Talk about your loss, share your story.  Take care of yourself and your family as they are suffering as well.

·         King David set the example of our response to the loss of a child; 1) PRAY FERVENTLY in good times as well as troubling times; seeking Godly wisdom and guidance, asking God to watch over your children. - Bring your child up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord and direct their steps on the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. – 2) WORSHIPPED GOD, acknowledging and accepting the death of your child; Give it all over to God, turning loose of what you cannot change. – 3) ACKNOWLEDGE that your child will not come back to you from the grave, but be confident that you will one day go to be with him in heaven.

·         Every baby is born with a sin nature even though they haven’t done anything wrong yet; their nature is still sinful and there are just no exceptions.  Although babies are born in sin, they HAVE NOT REJECTED the saving blood of Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross.   

·         The Book says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and that it is not God’s will that any little one should perish, but when they do, in the finality of things, it will all  work together for the good for those that love the Lord.

·         If you want to enjoy your child in heaven then YOU must be “born again”. The Book says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."

Acts 16:31 – Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved
³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

(NLT)

Romans 14:8 – Whether we live or die; it is unto the Lord
⁸ If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (NLT)

Isaiah 55:9 – God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

(ESV)

John 11:25-26 – Everyone who believes in me will never die
²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (NLT)                                                           

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

                         and see further that I otherwise ever could have.              

                                                                                                                                     

A Commentary; Critical, Experimental and Practical - Eerdmans

All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha – Goodspeed

Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Forgotten Books of Eden; The – World

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker

King James Version Bible – KJV

Lost Books of the Bible; The - World

Lost Books of the Bible; The - Bell

Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan

Missing Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nag Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV

NOTE: The “new” NIV has been corrupted & made gender neutral.  AVOID IT.

New Living Translation Bible- NLT

Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J. Schonfield

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament – Mac Donald

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison

Wikipedia –

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney