A Time for Sorrow and a Time for Rejoicing...

Kyle Lake has been on my mind all week. Kyle was the Senior Pastor at University Baptist Church in Waco, and was electrocuted while baptizing someone this past Sunday. This whole story has been so heavy on my heart and I have lifted up many prayers on this family's and this church's behalf. I know that, as always, God was right there in that very moment. I know that His comfort has been constant for Kyle's family and those who were close to him and those who did not know him at all. For the person who was putting on the Lord in baptism, I pray for God's peace upon them.

It is such a joyous occasion when someone chooses to put the Lord on in baptism. It never gets routine...it's always a time for rejoicing. After what happened on Sunday, it is evident that Satan has crept into this situation. He is causing many to doubt God, to fear baptism, to turn from God in anger, to question church's decisions to baptize by immersion. But, still, God is in control. For we know that Kyle is in a place far greater than Waco, Texas. His family and friends hurt, but even they know that. His precious wife and those precious 3 children are in my prayers also. I am praying that God will give them extra measures of strength and understanding, and a realization and a reason to rejoice, either now, or in the near future, that Kyle Lake died doing the Lord's work.

God, through the ages, has witnessed pain and peril upon His people. In the book of Ecclesiastes, wise Solomon makes some observations about the human condition..."For everything, there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace." (NLT) Solomon is trying to stress that God does have a plan for us and through the cycles of life, each of of has some work to do. Although some issues may cause us to question God, those times should really be times that we seek out God and remember that without Him, there are no solutions to our problems.

I did not know Kyle Lake, but I know that he was my brother in Christ. I hope that someday I will have the opportunity to meet him and let him know that even though his death was sudden and unexpected, it had a sudden and unexpected effect on many. It caused me, as well as others, to turn straight to God and to ask for only what He can give - comfort and peace in a time of loss. I am blessed with the knowledge that God is always with me, in every situation. I am in prayer for those who do not have that in their lives.

Life is so short...but God is so good. May His blessings be yours today and every day!