As human beings, many of us have probably experienced the joy of loving someone and receiving their love in return, but some of us have also experienced the loss of someone we love deeply as well. Douglas Gresham once said “I had yet to learn that all human relationships end in pain – it is the price that our imperfection has allowed Satan to exact from us for the privilege of love.” The more we love and care about someone, the greater the grief we will experience when that loved one is taken from us.
Sometimes death comes after a long period of illness that finally comes to an end. At other times death comes suddenly and unexpectedly like a thief in the night and sweeps away all that you hold dear. Regardless of how death comes, you can never quite be prepared for its arrival. Pain, sorrow, and grief naturally follow after the loss of someone dear to you. Life goes on for others, but life seems to stop altogether when your loved one is no longer there. Loneliness slowly creeps in and you feel as if you are drowning in the ocean of grief.
You wonder why this is happening to you, and why God would allow your loved one to be taken from you. Does He know how much it would hurt, and does He care? Yet even when you feel like you are drowning in grief, Jesus is still that island of comfort in the middle of your ocean, waiting with open arms to give you strength, and comfort through your sorrow. If you are God’s child, you have His eternal promise to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
If you are wondering whether Jesus cares how much you are hurting deeply inside with so many unanswered questions, the Bible says that He does. He cares deeply for you. He is not a high Priest Who is not able to understand your deep feelings and sorrow (Hebrews 4:15). God even goes as far as to state in Psalm 116: 15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” If your loved one is a born-again Christian, their death is precious in God’s sight. But your life, joy, and peace are also equally important to Him. And He wants to comfort you, give you joy in the midst of your sorrow and His peace that surpasses all understanding.
Living in this sin cursed world, death comes to us all at one point or another. Be encouraged that death cannot rob us of our joy, and hope in our Savior. The Savior who has conquered the grave, and given us eternal life. We do not live as the world does, nor do we grieve like they do. We know someday we will see our loved ones again in heaven, and what a glorious and joyful day that will be.
