July 14

And Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel. And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, — Judg 2:8-12 BSB

This happens all too often. As long as a godly parent or faithful friend is alive, it’s easier to do the right thing. But when that person is gone, the restraining hand is withdrawn, and the child or friend begins to drift from the holy influence. Many boys begin to drift away from God at their mother’s grave.

There was a man who struggled with alcoholism. He once said to a friend, “When I’m with you, I feel strong. If I could always be with you, I’d never give in to my terrible addiction.” His friend replied, “Whenever you feel tempted, come to me, and I’ll help you.” Many times this man rushed to his friend’s office, and once there, he soon regained his strength.

But death took his friend, and among the mourners at the funeral, no one shed more bitter tears than this man, who had relied so heavily on that support. When the temptation returned, there was no one to turn to, and in his despair, he fell back into his addiction and was ruined. If he had known Christ, he still would have missed his friend and found life harder without that help, but he would not have been left helpless. He would have had the strength of Christ to support him in his temptation.