For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed. Lamentations 1:16

The news is filled with stories of people in desperate circumstances.

Many of us know folks who are in danger of losing their homes.

Ed Roslonski, of Detroit, is a man who lost his home. But Ed didn’t lose his home to a foreclosure. One day, Ed drove home, and his house wasn’t there. He says, “I drove up and down the street three times — (asking) where is my house?”

Ed’s home had been scheduled for demolition when he purchased the”fixer-upper.” In an effort to improve the house and make the city a better place to live, Ed put $30,000 into making necessary improvements.

Then, somehow, someone placed his home back on the list of places scheduled for demolition.

Somebody put it on the list, and nobody took it off. That’s how Ed’s house disappeared one day. It disappeared without a trace.

Like Job, like the writer of the book of Lamentations, like many folks, Ed could say, “for these things I weep, my eyes flow with tears . . . . “

But that is where the similarity ends. We who have been blessed to be called to faith in the Savior can never say the “comforter is far from me . . . The enemy has prevailed.”

Truly, in the Savior we have been given a peace, which passes human understanding. We know through Jesus’ innocent suffering, death, and resurrection we are victors; indeed, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Luther had it right: “Take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife, they yet have nothing won; the Kingdom ours remaineth.” In Ed’s case, they took his house, but in Jesus, Ed still has a mansion in heaven. As for you, I don’t know what the world will try to take, but I know what you still have: you still have a Savior.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, in this world of sorrow and tears Your sacrifice and resurrection have made me a victor. May I live my days praising You for being with me and for defeating humankind’s ancient enemies: sin, death, and devil. In Your Name. Amen.

Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries http://www.lhm.org/ all rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.