Just a little while ago I received word from Rob George that 3 year-old Brigham Lanwehr has lost his battle with cancer and is now in the presence of Jesus. Many thoughts came to my mind when I got this news, and then God reminded me of what He has said in His Word. “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him…” (Nahum 1:7) What kinds of thoughts come to your mind after hearing the news of Brigham? Quite honestly, my initial thoughts were sadness and the question “why?” Why a 3 year-old God? Why after battling this for over a year was this the ending? Why not a miracle? One third of his life was spent in chemo with all kinds of medical treatment and I am sure that most of that time he was sick. I am sure that his parents Seth and Stacy were many times sick to their stomachs as they held their little boy wishing that they could do something and knowing that they could not. I’m sure that the twin sisters made sacrifices and are having a tough time trying to understand why their little brother had to go through all of that stuff only to die. I’m sure that they spent countless hours with their mommy and daddy at their bedside praying for their little brother to a God who is big and mighty and is able to do anything. Why didn’t God do something? “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him…” Really??? Is He good? Does He really care? Is it wrong to ask those kinds of questions? Is it wrong to think that way? What would you say to that family? We all say that we are praying for them, and that is a good thing, but don’t you think that they prayed too?
The second verse that came to mind is “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;…” (Proverbs 3:5) If I try to understand this, I will be destroyed. My natural thought process goes something like this: The LORD is good! He has promised to be a refuge in times of trouble and He cares about me, so I would hope that I might be somewhat immune to the big stuff like losing a child. Sort of makes sense, doesn’t it? The fact of the matter is that the LORD is good whether I think so or not. That is His character and it does not change. It does say that He is a refuge in times of trouble whether I think so or not. It does say that He cares, and He does whether I think so or not. It says that He cares for those who trust in Him. That includes past, present and future. The real question is do you trust Him? Do you trust Him with all your heart? The mention of “all your heart” tells me that this is not going to be easy. You might try to make sense out of all of this but I can promise you that you will not be able to do it. You will be destroyed trying to make sense out of this. We need to trust Him! Brigham is in the presence of Jesus! Is that not the desire and hope for all of us? There is no better place for that little 3 year-old but, it is so hard for us to understand. That is why we are told to trust Him with all our hearts.
I hope that I was able to share with you the tension that exists when something like this happens in our lives. God knew the days of Brigham and He knows your days too. Do you trust Him? Do you trust that He will provide the grace that Seth and Stacy need to endure? Do you trust that He will provide the grace that Amelia and Charlotte will need as they are tested by those who might question the goodness of God as they grow older? Do you think that the devil might use this to discourage and destroy this family and their relationship with the LORD? God is up to something! I am becoming more and more convinced of that each and every day. Look for the hand of God in everything, and then pray for this family. If you were in their shoes, how would you want people to pray for you? Whatever hurt and grief and confusion might surround you, you can be sure that this family is experiencing it themselves. Let’s take seriously the opportunity, privilege and responsibility to pray for this family.
Blessings,
Jerry