In a recent article, Dr. Frank Turek writes of a couple who recently lost their newborn child. As the father of two young girls myself, I can only imagine the pain and anguish that this couple has experienced.What struck me most in the article was Anna's (the mother) words after finding out that her newborn daughter, Caroline, had gone on to be with the Lord:
“I was so thankful that I didn’t have the added burden of questioning my belief and faith in God. And that’s because I hadn’t made the decision based on tradition or emotion. I had a faith that stood upon reasonable evidence.” [Emphasis mine].
This greatly underscores the importance of understanding what you believe and why you believe it. Feelings are ever changing; however, that which is true never changes. As Norman Geisler has said, "The unexamined faith is not worth living." I would add that the "unexamined faith will most often fail us when our hearts our broken."
As a result of their eternal hope, Neil and Anna were able to say “We know where sweet baby Caroline is, and we will see her again.” Amen.
Anna and her husband Neil also have an apologetics ministry entitled No Blind Faith. Their goal is to "move from superstitious religion to rational faith."
You can checkout their ministry here. They offer numerous resources including sermons, articles, talks, Bible studies, and cult answers.
You may also read the rest of Neil and Anna's story here.
May God give each of us such a measure of faith.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Comments
For His Glory,
Jake
I talked to Frank tonight and he mentioned he interviewed Neil and Anna for his radio show this week which will air tomorrow. Your readers can listen here live (10am Saturday): http://action.afa.net/Radio/ListenLive/ or get the podcast here sometime next week: http://action.afa.net/Radio/Talk/Podcasts/CrossExamined/
BTW, (if I haven't already told you) Frank will be one of the speakers at this years Mt. Airy Apologetics Conference in October. Koukl and Hazen will also be back and we are working on getting Habermas as well.
Blessings,
Steve
Great to hear from you! I have been thinking about checking in with you to see how things are going.
Thank you so much for the resources! Frank, Koukl, Hazen, and maybe HABERMAS! That would be awesome!
Again, it's great to hear from you and I hope all is well with you and yours!
Godspeed
Check it out here: http://www.crossexamined.org/radio.asp
When I had my first ultrasound, a song kept going through my head called "Blessed be Your Name". When it became apparent that something was wrong in my pregnancy, and I was at the hospital having the ultrasound that essentially revealed that the placenta was collapsing on itself, and that the baby had died, the same song was playing in my head. The words of the song that rang so true both times was "You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name" . Other parts of the song came to mind as well like "Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, when the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, blessed be the Name of the Lord." Well, on that day, the darkness was closing in, and it was one of the most painful experiences that I have ever experienced aside from Godly sorrow that led me to repentance
(2 Cor 7:9) - which happened not long after the miscarriage.
During that time, I was not able to readily reason as Neil and Anna were able to do. I had not yet been introduced to the study of apologetics. However, I did understand one of the points that they had mentioned which was that the child was not ours. I realized that God created the child in my womb, and that the child in my womb ultimately belonged to Him. I was just a steward of what He had given me.
I struggled for answers, and I was very grieved. But, I never lost the Hope that is found only in Him. I searched out His word for answers, as well as other Christian authors who wrote about loss of children. I recall one book entitled, "I'll See You in Heaven" which referred to the loss of King David's child which reminded me that the child that was in my womb had an eternal soul. I was comforted by the words of King David who said of his newborn son who had died, " I'll go to him, but he will never return to me." (2Sam12;23).
Looking back on my miscarriage that occurred a little over 5 years ago, I see that God was always there, in good times and during the dark times. His Truth endures forever (Psalm 100:5 KJV) . The experience of the miscarriage left me broken, humble, and with loss of control of my life. That was the point where I could start to grow in His grace. At that point, God revealed to me strongholds of sin in my life that had never been dealt with. After a dry period, He produced in me Godly sorrow which led to true repentance, and a dependence on Him. The revelation of the true wickedness in my heart led me to truly put away anything else that I was relying on for salvation but Jesus Christ alone and His finished work on the cross.
In summary, I guess that what I am saying is that God's Word is true. We can rely on Him completely. Even when things happen in our lives that hurt, He is there always (Hebrews 13:5). We can stand on His truth, even when our emotions are telling us something completely different. He can use the hardships and trials in our life for His glory and good.
In closing, I would like to include a few verses that have brought me comfort and joy during previous trials in my life.
Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 51:17, Psalm 147:3, Romans 8:38-39 Romans 8:28, Hebrews 13:5(b), Matthew 28:20(b)
Blessings!
It is an honor to be able to publish your comment. Thank you so much for being transparent enough to revisit and share such a heartbreaking time in your life.
With your permission, I would like to turn your comment into a post so that others may be encouraged by it. If you are uncomfortable with that, I understand completely.
Regardless, I know that God will continue to use your powerful testimony of His provision in such a difficult time.
Again, thank you so much for sharing.
Btw, you may enjoy Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "Yours."
Godspeed
Blessings!
I would also like to mention that on the day of the miscarriage, I was at work. One of my co-workers who was also a sister in Christ immediately stopped what she was doing and took me straight to the hospital. She held my hand, so to speak, during the hospital visit, ultrasound, and subsequent trip to my doctor's office. She stayed with me faithfully until my husband was able to join me. Besides the tangible things that the body of Christ did for our family, I know that there were also many prayers lifted up for us during that time. My husband also tried to comfort me, but ultimately it was God who I needed, and it was ultimately God who would heal my pain.
--Anonymous