Are You Grieving Over Something?

This past week, I was asked to officiate at a funeral in Chester. The woman who had died was only 63 years old. She had four children – three girls and one boy – and a whole bunch of grandchildren. This family was closeknit, but they had no idea of how to deal with grief. It made me think. Do any of us know how to deal with grief?

The Bible provides many examples of humans crying out to God in grief. Lament and hope can both be part of a faithful response. Lamentations gives us a picture of the aftermath of war. Jerusalem had been invaded by Babylon in 586 BC (Jeremiah 52). The chosen people of Israel had been turned over to their enemies. Deuteronomy 28 tells us God had threatened the people of Israel if they turned their backs on God and forgot their mission to be a light to other nations. Israel had nowhere to go now but to remember the past and to have hope in God who seemed for this moment to be far away. (Lamentations 5:19-22)

The people of Israel had lost their homes and their loved ones. Lamentations 3:52-54 tells us they were hunted by their enemies and were close to death. Verse 64 says they wept and called on the Lord to bring justice. They cried out to God not because they had lost hope but because they believed God was listening. Verse 57 says that when they called, God did come near.

God is always listening, and when we grieve and call out to Him, He will always hear and respond. If you have something to grieve over today, call out to God and He will look down from heaven and comfort you.

Prayer – Loving God, teach us to always reach out to you when we grieve. Give us the peace that passes all understanding. Amen.

Lamentations 3:49-50 – “My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.”

By the Rev. Tommy Herndon  

Images: Ahtziri Lagarde, Grace Madeline & Chidy Young, courtesy of Unsplash