Author Archives: Dr. Michael D. Baker

Genesis 25:5, “Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.” Abraham left all of his riches to Isaac, literally everything he owned! For Isaac, this was a rich inheritance that he would enjoy for the rest of his life. At the same time, this left Abraham’s other children envying Isaac and desiring a portion of theContinue reading “Preventing Family Conflict with a Last Will and Testament”

In H. Norman Wright’s struggle with losing his spouse, he described grief as two trains that show up outside your front door. Let’s let Dr. Wright explain it….. “It’s as though I entered a train station with two different sets of tracks and a train on each one. Most engines have names as did theseContinue reading “Two Trains”

Genesis 25:1a, “Abraham took another wife…” One of the most difficult parts of grieving the loss of a spouse is loneliness. Often the children are grown and gone, and the house is empty and silent. The awkward silence is deafening as there is no one to talk to, no one to invest your life in,Continue reading “Devotional: “Remarrying After the Loss of a Spouse””

Genesis 23:4, “I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among you for a burying place, so that I may bury my dead….” In the above verse, Abraham goes about the business of purchasing a field for the burial of Sarah. Abraham’s wife has passed away and he is inContinue reading “Devotional: The Business of Burial”

Genesis 23:1, “Sarah lived to be 127 years old, she died… and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.” Abraham suffered the loss of his wife and it was devastating. Sarah had been by his side through thick and thin, in the good times and in the bad. Sarah had seenContinue reading “Devotional: The Loss of A Spouse”

Genesis 16:13, “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” In our own grief and misery, we often feel that the Lord is nowhere to be found. When a person feels so allContinue reading “Devotional: “The One Who Sees Me””

2 Corinthians 7:6, “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,…” It cannot be overstated, the presence of a godly friend in our time of need is indispensable. In the above passage, Paul was comforted by the presence of Titus. Paul’s point is that God comforts the downcast, and HeContinue reading “Devotional: The Comforting Presence of a Friend”

Genesis 11:30, “Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.” Bereavement is the painful period of time one experiences after lossing a loved one who has died. Grief, on the otherhand, is the painful emotion that comes with any loss, not only death. In the above passage, Sarai was experiencing the grief over being barren,Continue reading “Devotional: Grief Comes in Many Forms”

Job 42:11, “All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.” As Job continued to sufferContinue reading “Devotional: Presence and Presents”

Job 35:16, “So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge, he multiplies words.” We are prone to it! Without exception, we open our mouths with “empty talk.” There is a certain amount of normalcy in grief that leads us to vain babbling. There is also a therapeutic effect to talking. One of theContinue reading “Devotional: Expressing Feelings through Words”