There are some events in life that are so painful, they threaten to wreck you from the inside out. The death of a loved one can be an example of one of these kinds of events. I recently read Pastor Levi Lusko’s story in his book “Through the Eyes of A Lion” as he bravely shares his family’s journey after his five-year-old daughter died in his arms. It happened just days before Christmas and his church was planning an outreach service. As he and his wife got into their car that horrible night after leaving the emergency room, they saw the flyers for the Christmas outreach on the dashboard. Levi’s wife handed the invitations to him and said he needed to go back into the ER and invite the hospital staff to the outreach… because it is what their daughter would have wanted them to do. Still in the midst of the shock of what had just happened hours earlier, he walked back in and invited the hospital staff to come to the outreach in honor of his daughter. Several days later, he took to the stage and preached the Christmas service - he didn’t do it because he is a workaholic, he did it because his daughter would have wanted him to share the hope of Jesus with all the people that came. And that is the hope that we as believers have! Even in the midst of an earth-shaking event like losing a child, we still have a hope that is firmly rooted…even when we feel like we are slipping away. 

That night Levi’s message was about how Jesus turns off the dark. And in the years following that heartbreaking event, through all the grieving and processing, Levi and his family lived the reality of how Jesus brings light into really dark moments. We can overcome despair in all situations because of Jesus. “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:37-38