When we face battles that knock the wind out of us it can be overwhelming and soul crushing. Unanswered questions, why’s and what if’s, the mind going a mile a minute trying to make sense out of what doesn’t make sense. Feelings of helplessness and not having any control over what’s happening. Crying till there’s no more tears to cry.

These are all symptoms of human weaknesses that we will all face at different times in life. I would say the death of someone we love is one of the worst events that we face as people. Processing the finality of never seeing that person again is unfathomable, facing the reality of it involves lots of grief and time. Heartache will ebb and flow like waves of the sea, from moments of calm to crushing pressure that seems to take you under water to the point of drowning in the pain.

Our family is experiencing this right now as my dear brother-in-law Tim unexpectedly left us this last week. I couldn’t even write for several days because of the shock of it all on our family, a feeling of deep loss. Sorrow for those closest to him, Tim’s wife and daughters, grandsons and elderly parents. We are crushed and truly heartbroken, life will never be the same without our brother.

It’s in these times that we need God to carry us through the shadows of grief and loss. Believing in God’s faithfulness to help us, can give us strength when ours is nowhere to be found. So we can turn to God’s word, the Bible to find hope through our faith. II Corinthians 12:9 speaks of what the Lord Jesus said to the apostle Paul as he pleaded in prayer for his suffering to be taken away.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

And Paul’s response in verse 10, “Therefore most gladly I will boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This is not pleasurable, the sting of death on our families. As we look to our God for the strength to get through it, we can find hope that this life is not the end. That we are on a journey to a higher place where there is no death.

I Corinthians 15:51-58 “Behold I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal (flesh and blood) has put on immortality (spirit), then shall be brought to pass the saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory!”

”Oh Death, where is your sting, Oh grave where is your victory?”

“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” Therefore beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain.”

We can find hope in our faith in Jesus Christ, in letting Him hold our hearts we can find peace in the midst of pain. He longs for us to turn to Him in our grief and sorrow and gives us words of comfort and His presence within our soul to know He’s with us; Emmanuel, God with us.

Revelation 21:4 says “And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, or crying, neither will there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new, and He said, these words are true and faithful. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him who is thirsty the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Turn to Jesus in your grief my friend, my loved ones. The Father is waiting to comfort us in His arms of love and mercy. God is our hope to see loved ones again and win the victory over death. I know Tim, our dear brother trusted in Jesus and is in the very presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at this very moment because God’s word says it!

II Corinthians 5:6 “We are confident, and willing to rather be absent from the body and present with the Lord.”

In His Comforting Love,

Sharon Kay