Faith along the way

Grief. Such a difficult thing to discuss, so hard to talk about, so hard to deal with, to endure. When the Lord brought this topic to my mind, I admit I asked, “Are you sure, Lord?” I am not a grief counselor or expert by any means, but I am trusting the Lord to give me the words, His words, that will bring some comfort, some encouragement, some grace to someone who may be hurting. Even as I type this, tears form in my eyes because right now so many people I love and care about are mourning the loss of precious, precious loved ones, the loss of health, experiencing a terrible diagnosis, who have loved ones in the hospital. It is not easy, I know. I’ve been there, truth be told… am still there.

People grieve and mourn different things: the death of a loved one or friend, the ending of a relationship, the loss of a beloved pet, an illness, loss of a home or a job, so many things we grieve over. We all grieve in different ways for different lengths of time. The grief process often gets less intense over time, but we can still have that sense of loss for a long time. Certain memories or events can trigger strong emotions, can sometimes make our feelings of grief strong and intense, can bring us right back to that moment of loss.

What can we do? What helps? How can we help those we love who are grieving? All good questions. While on this earth, the Lord Jesus was acquainted with grief. Isaiah 53:3 tells us He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He experienced loss and knows how we feel. His life on this earth was not easy. He found comfort and strength in the Father, crying out to Him in prayer. So can we. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (NKJV). God loves us and comforts us. Please keep calling out to Him. These verses also tell us we can comfort one another. As believers, we are called to comfort one another.

How do we comfort one another? Lifting them up in prayer is a powerful way. There is power in prayer. It may be that all you know to do is tell them you are there for them and listen, just listen, to them; they may just need to talk. It may be just sitting with them in silence. It may be taking a meal to them, helping with tasks around the home, or offering comfort as our Lord does for us: “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (NKJV) is what Matthew 5:4 tells us. Each one of us has a story of grief. Everyone experiences sorrow. We all probably have had well-meaning people who tell us they know how we feel, who tell us not to cry, or even tell us it’s time to get over it, it’s time to move on. Sometimes people just don’t know the right thing to say. We each process grief differently, for different lengths of time, but I pray that the one thing we have in common is that we go to the Lord for comfort, cry out to Him for help, for strength…even if it’s to get through the day one moment at a time. He hears, He listens, He will comfort us and give us strength.

If you are in a period of grieving, I am so sorry. I don’t have all the answers, but I know the One Who does…Jesus. I do pray that the Lord gives you comfort and strength. Please, keeping calling out to Him. He is with you. He loves you. I hope you have someone near you to call on, to pray for you, to listen, to even cry with you. I hope you find even a small measure of comfort and encouragement in these words. I pray the Lord’s peace within you as you are going through your circumstance. May He comfort you with precious memories.

God’s comfort and peace to you,

Jackie