Comfort

Lord,
Death ever stalks abroad,
Claiming yet another life.

We know
That all lives come to an end.

The knowing
Doesn't make the grieving
Any easier.

Lord,
As Elohim, You are Creator,
Forming us out of the dust of the earth.
As El-Shaddai, You are God Almighty,
Establishing Your sovereignty over all creation.
As Jah, You are Redeemer,
The ever-present savior of our lives.
As Jehovah, You reveal Yourself
As He who was, and is, and is to come.
As Jesus, You are Emmanuel,
God with us,
Humbling yourself
And offering yourself
As the sacrifice
For the sin-debt we have incurred
So that we may be saved.

There is progression here,
And promise,
And hope.

With each new revelation
Of Yourself,
We see more personal interaction
With us.
We see You moving
From the macro -
The creation of all that we know -
To the micro -
Coming to us as one of us.
We see involvement.
We see substitution.
We see tangible love
Played out in the human sphere.
We see,
And respond,
And hope.

Lord,
In these days when my friend
Lays her mom to rest,
We pray that You uphold her
Through the weight of her grief.
In the days to come,
We pray that you continue to uphold her,
And give her comfort and peace.
Let her see beyond
This life, this flesh,
To the place where You are,
Where her mother is transformed
And life begins anew.

How long, O Father?
How long before death
Is vanquished,
And we are revealed
As You desired for us
Since before the world began?
We eagerly await
Sin's conquering,
Death's death,
And the universe's rebirth.
Let the Joy pent up
From Creation's Fall
Burst forth
As we greet those
Asleep in You
And risen in Christ.
Deliver us, Father,
That we may abide with You.
Comfort us, Father,
As we seek refuge from
The power of sin,
And the separation of death...