Precious in His sight

Psalm 116:15

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

A few years ago a friend of mine was tragically killed in a car accident. I had known him for more than 30 years. I had gone to high school with him and he had married one of my best friends.

If there was ever a married couple that I have known who really loved each other and were totally committed to one another it was them. From the time they met everyone could tell that they were meant to be together. And together they were, for 31 years.

On Nov 30, 2008, the day of their 31st wedding anniversary, while out shopping for Christmas presents for local needy families they were stopped at a traffic light and another car plowed into the rear of them. The SUV that hit them was estimated traveling at 95 miles per hour. The impact was so forceful that it pushed the car carrying my friends over 400 feet. The impact killed my high school friend instantly and sent his wife, my other friend to the hospital where she remained in critical condition for weeks.

Time has now passed but in those first few weeks that followed the accident when my friend was in hospital and her husband gone I struggled with God on this passage of scripture. I cried for my friend and the hurt I knew she was now going through and would continue to go through. I just didn’t understand how God in all his love and mercy and kindness could call something as tragic as this ~ “precious”. It just didn’t make sense.

One night in the early hours of the morning God woke me up, spoke directly to my heart and said to me (my interpretation of what my heart heard) “You want to know why I can call this situation precious, get up, I’m going to tell you”.

I went to another part of the house where I could be alone with God, got on my knees and started searching the scriptures. This is what God revealed to me.

The word “precious” means costly. God told me that He was the one who paid the high price for my friend to be one of His saints. He is the one who made the sacrifice, who shed His blood who bore my friends sins so he would have eternal life with Him. He was the one who died for my friend and spared his soul for eternal separation from a loving God.

That’s why God can call the death of one of His saints precious. Because it cost Him All He Had.

From that moment on God gave me peace about it and I never again asked why. I know my God is faithful and trustworthy.

If you've lost a loved one God will help you deal with the pain of loss if you go to Him and let Him carry it for you. Why, because you too are precious in His sight and anything thing that He calls precious ~ He keeps close watch over it.

Lord, thank you for my family and my friends.  I pray your protection over each one.  And when it's your perfect time to take one home to be with you let me still be able to take comfort in your love so pure that even in death you see it as a precious thing.