It’s Not Over Yet! Get Up!

So often when troubles and trials come and seem insurmountable, one of the first things that some people do is succumb to the belief that all is lost. It’s easy to do, especially when you cannot see how the situation can end in your favor. But, I am a living witness that when life seems over because of the pain and grief we are experiencing,  it may just be the beginning of a new life. We can learn this lesson from  the story of the widow in Nani who was about to bury her only son, when she encountered Jesus (Luke 7: 11-17). Her story teaches us that a change can happen at any moment, and that what we see as impossible, is possible for a power greater than you and me.

Her predicament was as bad as it gets, for with her only son and husband dead, she was a woman alone in a culture in which widows were often mistreated, for there were no males to protect and provide for her. As she walked to the cemetery with her son’s body, she must have been thinking, “What am I going to do now? It’s all over for me!” She might have succumbed to the depression that accompanies such grief as the loss of a child, as she simply could not see any other ending. But then she encountered Jesus as he was entering Nain.

When Jesus saw her grief, his heart filled with compassion for her, because  Jesus understood that her life was going to be hard and painful with no male in her home. He said to her, “Don’t cry!” This must have seemed an inappropriate statement considering she was about to bury her son, but Jesus was preparing to change the situation for her. He touched the coffin and the bearers stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you, get up.” The dead boy sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. What a life turn around!

I have had my own moments of domestic violence when it seemed that no change would come, when it appeared that all hope was lost and that I was stuck in a situation with no happy ending. I had given up and succumbed to the belief that no one could help me. Then, I prayed for the courage to be alone and not dependent on another human being to find my value and worth.  A few weeks later, I said no to the violence, and although I spent several days in the hospital after being hit again, the violence ended and I came to understand that it’s not over until God speaks! What a life turn around!

No matter how bad it looks and how hard it is to endure until your change comes, I say to you today, “It’s not over yet! Get up!” Don’t succumb to negative thoughts and the seeming impossibility of the situation; instead, think about new life and what that would look like for you, and then pray with all sincerity and hope,  knowing that you are not alone. The One who wakes up the universe every say, directing the Sun in the sky and stretching out the heavens in blue is with you.  The One who makes the moon shine in the night sky, no matter what is happening in the world, will never leave you.

That is my belief! I have seen Him work too many times in my life for me to think that any problem is the end, even death, for I believe that life anew begins with death, and that though I may lay down in life, I will get up in glory!

It’s not over yet! Get up!