Too Much Perfection?

I am copying today's Devotional that my Pastor sent out. It was about my friend that was killed this week. I didn't even realize that my Pastor knew him, too.

Nothing to Say

I know that on Monday some of you may have been wondering why there was no email. I have to be honest, it was one of those days where I just had nothing to say. Have you ever been in that place, where words aren’t enough and life is too much? Lately, I find myself needing to listen more than I need to talk. This has been a tough week. A friend of mine, who I had ministered to, and with whom I shared a personal knowledge of some of his struggles, died in a car accident. This guy was a great guy. He had overcome so very much. He had survived a brain surgery that literally removed half of his brain. The doctor could not get all of the cancer, but removed as much as he could. My friend had a faith that was steadfast in the face of this modern day Goliath. The doctor said that he would be a vegetable after the surgery. My friend said, "Doc, with all due respect, you don’t control that, but I know who does. You just do your part, and God will do the rest." God did. My friend came out of the surgery, and this vegetable talked and held his family, and started down the path of recovery. Then God did the rest. He was healed of the remaining cancer. God brought the Goliath down. His is an awe inspiring story. Last September, I saw God use this man, the vegetable that could walk and talk and love. God used him as the vehicle through which an eighteen year old boy with a giant of his own.......cancer, was healed. It was awesome, and my friend was the faithful one who bore God’s voice, God’s hand, and God’s power. I will always cherish that memory. Yesterday, my friend was laid to rest, killed at the hand of two cars driven by people who decided that it was a good idea to drag race down a residential road. Yesterday I was there, at his funeral. I saw the casket bearing his body. I saw his favorite "Florida Gator" hat on his head peeking up over the edge of the casket. I heard the weeping of his family. His three daughters and son crying and numb. I saw his wife, who had left him, taken by the thought of life without the one whom she thought she did not want. I heard the cries of a mother who had lost her beloved son. I heard. I listened. I heard two pastors make statements about him and his faith. I heard one of them clearly share the need for Jesus as manifest by my friend’s life. I heard the other pastor share scriptural error in an attempt to make people feel good. I listened.... but honestly, I just did not have anything to say. It was raining outside. I could hear it. Thunder rolled in the distance. I could hear it as well. There is quite a bit of noise these days, and I contribute to it regularly, but the honest truth is that there is only one voice that needs to be heard and few seem to be listening. We need to hear the voice of God. My friend heard His voice and it changed his life. My friend hears His voice now, face to face. I have no doubt that God wanted to say something about my friend yesterday, after all, he was His child. It seemed to me, that no one was listening. Listen the this verse in Jeremiah 31:16 "Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." I know that I am taking this out of context, but I know God, and I know that He will one day wipe every tear away. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I know that God says that those who are mourn are blessed, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). I know, because somewhere down the road, I heard and listened.

Today, I ask you to just listen. There is much to be heard, especially when you just have nothing to say. It is during our quiet times with God that we speak volumes