It is not easy to lose a loved one, most especially a son or a daughter. I remember when my younger brother Samuel died by drowning, my entire family was thrown into grief. My father could not take it. He practically aged overnight and not long afterward he passed on too. Not to express our grief or not to give in to grief would have been extremely hard. Yet the bible instructs Christians not to grieve as the world, but rather to thank God in everything knowing that we will someday see our loved ones who have slept in death before us. In other words, we are to keep serving the Lord even in pain.
When Nadab and Abihu were killed by the Lord because of their irreverent service before the Lord, Aaron and his household must have been undeniably thrown into grief too. The death of these young men was so unexpected. One minute they were ordained and consecrated into the priesthood to serve the Almighty God and the next they were burnt to death because of disobedience! This must have been too much for Aaron who was their father and who was also supposed to have been watching over their acts of service since they were just recently ordained. He must have been tempted to throw in the towel and forget his divine calling, but God would not allow that. “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” (Lev 10:6-7)
God’s people are expected to keep serving the Lord no matter what happens. In sickness, in health, happy times, sad times, in prison and out of prison etc we are to keep our focus on the Lord and not our earthly circumstances. Circumstances change, but God can never change. As a matter of fact it is our service to the Lord that will change our circumstances.
Sometimes, when I go into the prisons to minister and share the word of God, I see young men and women loitering or playing outside the church premises and I wonder why they are not in the service. Some may have given up all hope and probably do not see what good church can do for them now. This is a wrong thinking. In whatever situation we find ourselves, we have to serve and worship God. This is what will give us solution at the end of the day.
Things can still change for good! You can work with God to ensure that all things indeed work together for your good. God’s word can never fail. If you can believe today, He will work with you right there in the prison or in your solitary cell.
It was difficult for Aaron not to mourn his sons. In a sense, it was a kind of prison he found himself, but he knew better than to disobey the instructions of God not to mourn his sons. Death awaited him if he disobeyed and also the entire camp of the Israel would have been in jeopardy by his disobedience. He could not afford to disobey and so he kept serving the Lord even in pain.
Is your wife and children awaiting your release from prison? Is it not your mother’s wish to see you out of prison before she dies? What about those plans you had to finish school and start your own business? Are you just going to let all that go? Don’t you know that other people will be in jeopardy if you refuse to serve the Lord because you are unhappy or angry that you are in prison? Serving the Lord is not an option. You have to serve the Lord in spite of your pains if you want to see better days in life.
There are no better options for us in life than to serve God - whether we are in prison or out of prison.
SHALLOM
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