Precious in His Sight

I may have mentioned this before in recent blog posts, but I’ve probably thought and read about heaven more over these last two months than I did in the previous fifty-some years of my Christian walk!  I would imagine that my wife’s new residence there has had something to do with this phenomenon…

Both Piper and I were never ones to dwell a lot on our heavenly futures.  While some around us tended to comment about how they couldn’t wait for Jesus to come back and take us home when times got tough, we tended to look with excitement at God’s Word and at what it declared that Jesus had provided for us here on this earth, to get us through the difficulties in great victory!  I think we’ve just always been more in tune to accomplishing the current activities He called us to right now, then the end times.  But that said… with Piper’s home-going, I’ve had an uncanny desire to find out what it is like up there, to imagine what she is doing and to picture her rejoicing in the throne room of God. 

I’ve been enamored lately with a verse that I recently read in Psalm 116:15 were it is written: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.” (God’s Word ©)  This verse continues to give me great joy and peace as I imagine the welcoming committee that met Piper as she came through the gates of heaven a couple of months ago, and now of the daily fellowship, worship and rejoicing that she is doing with family members, biblical characters that we are all familiar with from the stories in our Bibles, and a whole bunch of old and new friends! 

On a hunch this morning I looked up the original Hebrew definition for the word translated “Precious” at the beginning of this verse.  All three of the different Hebrew/Greek dictionaries that I looked in pretty much agreed that the writer was trying to convey the ideas of something “prized, rare, costly like precious stones or jewels, beloved and of great price.” (Strong’s Brown-Driver-Briggs/Thayer’s)  All of those words tended to give me a picture in my mind’s eye of the look on the Lord’s face as He greeted and hugged a strong, healthy and vibrant Piper Kaye.

A few of those definitions also got me to thinking about all the various costs that we incurred since those first tests back in 2007.  I did some rough calculations a couple of years ago and figured that at that time we had already spent, out-of-pocket, more than 40K on Piper’s medical needs alone.  And these last two years were much more demanding than the previous ones… so I’m sure that it has well surpassed that number. Then if I was to add all the other expenses indirectly associated with her care like moving across country to be nearer to our kids, trading in expensive cars for a lot less than they were worth so that could haul her new wheelchair around, special clothes to meet her ever-changing needs… and the list of incidentals goes on and on!

So, I guess I whole-heartedly agree with the Psalmist in that Piper, who is undoubtedly one of God’s “faithful ones” was and continues to be quite valuable, costly, prized and honored.  And you know, when she was here in my care, there was never any expenditure that I questioned.  Whatever she needed, she got, no matter the cost. For we knew from day one beginning with that special prayer we prayed as we held hands late at night after receiving the first negative report on her initial tests results while in Oklahoma back in 2007, that our “God shall supply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 KJV)  And He did!

Today as I write this, we have no debt and along the way we never had to borrow any money to pay for any of her medical expenses.  Isn’t God Good!  I think much of this comes down to the fact of being God-minded when you enter into a journey like the one Piper and I went through… and I still find myself involved with by entering into the next chapter of His plans and purposes for my life.

As many of you know, we focused our attention on Him at the very beginning and never allowed ourselves to be swayed off the mark by the well-meaning comments, suggestions or even negative remarks from other’s… and what more can I say?  It worked for us and it can work for you as well.  WHY? Because as the Word declares, YOU are precious in His sight!

Think on that thought for a few moments right now… YOU ARE PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD ALMIGHTY… YES YOU!  And He has given us the tools that we need to be successful in everything we come across in life within the very pages of His book, the Bible.  Remember those aren’t just words printed on a page, they are the very life and power of God speaking to you and they are for you to put into work in the situations you encounter on a daily basis! (See: John 1:1-5)

So yeah… back to my original point.  I do think a lot more about heaven now and along with it, I think about how precious we all are in God’s sight… be it there rejoicing in glory or working through a tough situation here on the earth.  I believe that His view of us is the same whether we are there in His presence or down here among men.  It pleases me very much to think of my Piper totally set free from every life-stealing effect of Alzheimer’s and of her jumping, laughing and dancing with the Lord… But I also have peace about the special plans and purposes that He has for me… and YOU right here, right now!

Have a great weekend, and as you do, take a moment or two to think about how precious you are in the sight of the Lord, then declare with me… “I am expecting to experience the good pleasure of the Lord today!”