All Things Together

Can anything good come out of death? I remember asking myself that question when, soon after my father had become critically ill and the reality of loosing him had come into sharp focus, I came across Romans 8:28. It says “all things work together for the good….” But surely nothing good could come out of the death of a loved one!
It is a serious question and I suppose it is asked at many gravesides on a daily, if not hourly basis. The pain is so great. The loss is so intense. Yet now years later I see that yes indeed, even in death, good things can come forth.

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September 2005

We needed a testimony for First Thessalonians. Several years earlier, we had all known Susan, a lovely young woman who was dying of cancer. She asked if we could film her testimony and we were delighted to do that for her….and then she asked if it could be shown to the hundreds of ladies in our weekly women’s ministry. Susan’s story testified to the goodness of God and her hope in Him for eternity. It was so profound that the response from her words was incredible and the impact dynamic. Our sweet friend died a few months later.

Years passed and her husband remarried. We were getting ready to assemble the components of the book of First Thessalonians and realized that Susan’s story would be the perfect testimony for us to use. So we contacted her husband. Would he agree to sign the release form allowing us to use the clip in The Amazing Collection?

He agreed to sign and we sent him the paper work but weeks went by and it was not returned. Genie and Colin (our two co-leaders in finding proper testimonies) called repeatedly and always received a promise to sign but that promise was never fulfilled.

Months and months went by with repeated calls and still no signed papers so we asked Art to call him. Art had been his pastor and we thought he would be able to get a definite answer for us. He graciously made the call and again received a promise to sign and send but after waiting a few more weeks we realized that for a reason we could not understand, this was not going to happen. We were all very frustrated and anxious because we were working now on a VERY tight deadline.

So we prayed asking God to give us the perfect testimony for this special book.

Colin was reading Discipleship Journal a magazine that was put out by Navpress and came across an article written by the editor, a woman whose sister, Gaye-Lynn Smith, had died of cancer. However, just before she died, her church had filmed her glorious testimony. Colin called me immediately to see if we could get it and I called a contact at Navpress in Colorado Springs, Colorado who was able to get the name of the editor who in turn gave me the name of the pastor who lived in Virginia who had the film and he called his son who owned the production company who had done the filming. The pastor gave Colin the name of the husband who now lived in New Guinea and she was able to obtain permission to include Gaye-Lynn’s testimony in the study, and then the production company sent us a copy on a DVD disc. We were good to go…and none too soon!

Can anything good come out of death? Susan spoke into the camera from her living room couch to women she knew and had enjoyed. Her message was for them and so she gave glory to God while she was days away from stepping into the presence of God. Hundreds of women were forever impacted as they listened to her message on a big screen in the church auditorium and none who were there that day will ever forget her powerful words.

Gaye-Lynn lay in a hospital knowing that she only had a few days on this earth. She spoke into a camera, not knowing who would ever see her or hear her words. Yet today, thousands of women sit in auditoriums, church classrooms, or home small groups and hear Gayle-Lynn’s story, and around the world through over seven overseas broadcasting stations in five languages millions of people can see and hear Gaye-Lynn’s message of hope and confident trust in her Savior.

Some day I know I will have the privilege of meeting Gaye-Lynn Smith and when I do it will be a great joy to tell her that her story literally was seen in almost every country in the world and God received the glory.

Behind Romans 8:28 is GOD. It is He alone who can and will work mightily to bring great good even out of death.

Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.