RECENTLY A FRIEND OF MY HUSBAND’S contacted Duane to share with him his sorrow in the death of his dog. This man had two standard size poodles who went everywhere with him…
This friend of Duane’s could not have contacted anyone better, nor more sympathetic, than my dear, precious husband, for Duane and I had been through the same experience with the death of our fawn-colored pug, Brutus.
Both dogs were healthy, or so we believed. And Brutus was young. Both dogs literally just suddenly dropped dead… His dog came to him, licked his hand, seemed to have stumbled, dropped, and died. Brutus was sitting on the floor, let out a howl we’ve never heard from any of our many, many dogs, and dropped dead. All of us were taken by sorrowful surprise. All of us were shocked… Yet sharing our sorrowful experience with Duane’s friend really doesn’t help that much…
Who in this world has not experienced the death of a loved one? Be the loved one a father, mother, spouse, child, friend, anyone else; or a pet of many years, it always hurts. It hurts because we hate that separation; it wasn’t supposed to be that way. But Adam brought death to the world.
Selah.
Now here’s the good news about facing the final enemy, death:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
For the human experience when death is dealt with in Christ here is how we not only cope, but look forward to leaving:
Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
This one Scripture, consisting of twelve words, does not give us expectation only; it gives us a promise from God that once we’ve faced the final enemy, death, we gain! Nothing is ever better nor more dazzling than being with God in Heaven!
Selah.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DEATH OF YOUR DOG?
Where does she go? Understand this perfectly; (that would be biblically, of course) your dog has a soul. She is not a robot. She is a love bug just as God intended her (and you!) to be!
What is her soul?
Like ours, her soul is her mind, her will, and her emotions. No one can biblically deny a dog has all three of these criteria. She, like you, loves, experiences sorrow, fears, grieves, chooses her behavior, (even upon great professional training) and even grins!
TELL ME SKEPTICS…
does God annihilate anything? Does he annihilate wicked men, or does He cast them into the lake of fire? Let me show you:
Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
People never cease to exist… They are eternal beings: being either eternally alive or dead.
Selah.
Does God ever stop loving His creation who loves Him back? He feeds the birds of the air, He provides food for the lion and bear. Does He not love them?
Does the God of the Bible, who created everything for His glory, deal with even an animal who kills His finest creation, man? Yes!
Genesis 9:5-6
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
Surprised?
I hope not!
Animals think and move. They strategize, plotting how to catch their next meal in the wild. They hide, they be still…
Be still and know that He is God. He created your dog for His glory. He created all things and called all things good. For those creations who choose good and love Him in return, He is with them. For those, like animals who choose to kill a human being, doing evil are held accountable.
Tell me, did your dog kill anyone? Unthinkable to most dog owners. Yet there are always some who have a dangerous breed by choice but still who won’t take responsibility…
When our dog, Otis (another pug) died, my daughter found him. She covered him with a blanket and placed a flower on top. When I pulled the blanket back I saw a shell. Otis’s body was cold and hard; but Otis was gone. I knew it!
Psalm 36:5-6
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
Isaiah 11:6-9
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
You know what else?
Revelation 19:11
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FOR THIS JOY STORY:
SIN ENTERED HUMANITY THROUGH ADAM:
Romans 5:12-15
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
GOD LOVES HIS FUR AND FEATHER BABIES (and more):
Luke 12:4-7
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
WE LIVE BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT:
2 Corinthians 5:5-10
Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
CHRISTIANS ARE SEATED WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS:
Ephesians 2:6-9
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
WE MUST CRUCIFY OUR FLESH AND KEEP GOD AS OUR FIRST LOVE:
Romans 8:1-8
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
GOD PRESERVES PEOPLE AND ANIMALS:
Psalm 36:5-6
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
Growing up in a home without the love for God, an invalid father, heavy financial hardships, and tremendous (sometimes dangerous) discord is always difficult. Add on to that extreme shyness, a feeling of inferiority, and some may think this girl was rejected. But God’s hand was on her and His heart was for her. Today, Ann Marie Turner has performed many great services in Jesus’ name for the love of God and man; and for herself! She has ministered in the male correctional for over ten years. Along with this website, Ann is the author of Joy Stories, Volume One and The Free Incarcerated Man. Writing about the joy of the Lord and the victory that is available for a willing soul is one of Ann’s now greatest joys! Ann’s prayer for you is to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony. Celebrate the God of the Bible and your personal victories in Christ unceasingly! Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.