Promises From God, Truth During Grief

So, I unexpectedly dropped off planet earth last week.

Did you notice?

Well, I didn’t really leave the planet {way cool} but I did leave the country. As I mentioned before, we had to take an unexpected trip to Maine last week...for a funeral.

I guess all funerals are somewhat unexpected, aren’t they? But this one was even more so. A young life, just 43 years old, ended. And while the death wasn’t in my immediate family, it was close enough that it felt like a loss in my immediate family.

It was a pretty difficult week.

But y’all, I’m so thankful for family. I’m thankful for the way we rally around each other, encourage each other, cry and pray with each other. Some of these same people comforted me and my family during the deaths of my grandparents. Now we were able to do the same for them, just be there, supporting them in any way we could during this time.

And while death is never easy, I am so thankful we can still claim the promises of God:

John 14:18 

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Even if we didn’t have the support of family and friends, we will always have the Lord to comfort us. He can comfort better than any human can! How often do we stumble over words, trying to say the right things, but just not knowing what to say? Turn to God. He is the ultimate comforter who is never at a loss for words.

Hebrews 13:8 

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The same Jesus who wept with Mary and Martha is with us, praying for us. He is not a God who “cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” {Heb. 4:15} for he lived on earth as a human, with the same feelings, emotions, and experiences that we face. He knows what we face, and with us - yesterday, and today, and forever.

And some of my favourite verses, Psalm 27:13-14 

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

We might not see the goodness of the Lord right now. We might only see badness in our present circumstances. But if we believe in the goodness of the Lord, and wait courageously, He will strengthen us for this time, and bring that goodness from our circumstances. It is not up to us to “fix it,” it is up to him. All we have to do is wait for it.

Right now, there is a family mourning the loss of a son, brother, dad, and uncle. They are hurting deeply. But they are also claiming the promises of God, and trusting Him to bring goodness from this time. Will you join me in praying for their healing, and that this circumstance will succeed in glorifying God?