How Great is Our God?
Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Bill, Pam, Bethany, and Amy Rehrer. I have been to a memorial services before, including ones for family members, but never to one like this. I had never attended one for an event that seemed so tragic, especially one that involved people I knew.
The service was definitely sad and emotional, yet it was one of the most truly awesome events I have ever attended. Throughout this unexpected memorial, God was praised. And even though there was sorrow, we did not grieve without hope. The part of the service that amazed me the most was certainly the words of Matt Rehrer. Matt lost his entire family, yet he still stood up and calmly gave God glory. This man who had suffered such a great loss was standing up on the stage and proclaiming the glory of the God for which his family lived. At the end of the service much of the congregation somewhat spontaneously broke into singing "Psalm 113," the chorus of which states, "We praise the Lord on high."
After the service, we had many of those who were in town from The Master's College over to our house for taco salad--a meal we often had shared with the Rehrers. During the evening, we set aside a time for prayer and the singing of praises to our God. Despite the tragedy that had occured, we all sang songs that talked about blessing the name of the Lord even in hard times and taking refuge in the Lord, our stronghold. Bethany had been a part of a singing group at Master's called Majesty, and many of the other members of that ensemble were here last night, so the singing was awesomely beautiful.
How can all this be? How can Matt and Kara have such peace in the midst of catastrophe? How can a group of young people that just lost a dear friend sit around and sing "Blessed be the name of the Lord?"
The answer: God. In times that seen too terrible and frightening to bear, he remains faithful; he remains good. We know we need not sorrow without hope about the Rehrers because we know that they are in his presence now. We have seen the fruit he bore in their lives and the fruit he is continuing to bear. Even in the midst of sorrow, God has proven his trustworthiness.
"How great is our God
Sing with me, How great is our God
And all will see how great, how great is our God"
Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Bill, Pam, Bethany, and Amy Rehrer. I have been to a memorial services before, including ones for family members, but never to one like this. I had never attended one for an event that seemed so tragic, especially one that involved people I knew.
The service was definitely sad and emotional, yet it was one of the most truly awesome events I have ever attended. Throughout this unexpected memorial, God was praised. And even though there was sorrow, we did not grieve without hope. The part of the service that amazed me the most was certainly the words of Matt Rehrer. Matt lost his entire family, yet he still stood up and calmly gave God glory. This man who had suffered such a great loss was standing up on the stage and proclaiming the glory of the God for which his family lived. At the end of the service much of the congregation somewhat spontaneously broke into singing "Psalm 113," the chorus of which states, "We praise the Lord on high."
After the service, we had many of those who were in town from The Master's College over to our house for taco salad--a meal we often had shared with the Rehrers. During the evening, we set aside a time for prayer and the singing of praises to our God. Despite the tragedy that had occured, we all sang songs that talked about blessing the name of the Lord even in hard times and taking refuge in the Lord, our stronghold. Bethany had been a part of a singing group at Master's called Majesty, and many of the other members of that ensemble were here last night, so the singing was awesomely beautiful.
How can all this be? How can Matt and Kara have such peace in the midst of catastrophe? How can a group of young people that just lost a dear friend sit around and sing "Blessed be the name of the Lord?"
The answer: God. In times that seen too terrible and frightening to bear, he remains faithful; he remains good. We know we need not sorrow without hope about the Rehrers because we know that they are in his presence now. We have seen the fruit he bore in their lives and the fruit he is continuing to bear. Even in the midst of sorrow, God has proven his trustworthiness.
"How great is our God
Sing with me, How great is our God
And all will see how great, how great is our God"
posted by Ben Blakey at 8:17 PM
2 Comments:
Yo Bro,
Christa and I just got back home and, of course, had to check the blogs. Thanks for writing about the memorial service for the Rehrer family. As we saw through their lives we do have a great God and He is greatly to be praised!
Ben- I appreciate your comments. I was so impressed with the memorial service because God received the Glory- I believe that the memorial service was life changing in that I'm sure many were encouraged to re-examine their lives and live "sold out" for God. What impressed (and encouraged) me the most was to to see how the Rehrers were so God-centered in their lives, how they lived to serve Christ, and how they lived by His Word. Even in death they still serve by the testimonies and memories they've left behind. Soli Deo Gloria.
I remain,
By God's Grace, thru His Word, For His Glory,
George P.
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