John 14:1-3  
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”
Jesus spoke these words of comfort to his disciples just before his Crucifixion. The disciples seem to have had very little idea of what was going on and certainly hadn’t understood that Jesus was going to leave them so soon. But Jesus knew that they would need reassurance as they passed through turbulent and challenging days. In short, he said there is nothing to worry about because God had made perfect plans for the future. 
As we mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth it is wonderful that we are able to do so with the sure knowledge that she knew that her life was secure in God’s hands. She was happy to be extremely public and clear about her personal devotion to Christ, and her desire to live and work for him. She knew where she was going and that there was nothing to worry about.
It reminds me of family holidays. When I was a little boy we would always go on holiday for two weeks and mostly to the Isle of Wight. On many occasions we stayed in a little cottage beside Compton Bay which looked across Freshwater Bay. It was wonderful in every way. We would spend time on the beach and collecting wild flowers and as a little boy I hadn’t a single clue about the arrangements that had to be made to get us there, or rent the cottage. But what is more I didn’t need to have a clue about the arrangements because my father had done it all. I could trust him – and I did.
Whenever we face death we are all bound to look to the future and wonder what’s going to happen to us. I believe that we need only to look to our heavenly father and know that he can be trusted. He’s made the arrangements and all we need to do is to put our lives in his hands.
Prayer: Loving God, as we thank you for Queen Elizabeth we praise you for her inspiring faith. We thank you that she placed her life in your hands and that she was confident about the future that you had prepared for her. We pray for King Charles and the Royal Family, and for our whole nation that at this time of sadness we will place our lives afresh in your loving hands. Amen

Released on 10 Sep 2022