Psalm 34:17-20 The Message
17 Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.
18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
19 Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.
20 He’s your bodyguard, shielding every bone;
not even a finger gets broken.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Grieving is a natural response to loss and sorrow. In the midst of our pain we find comfort and peace in the assurance that God is near to the brokenhearted.
When we experience loss, we turn to God in prayer, pouring out our hearts before him.
He completely understands our pain, and in his tender compassion the Lord continuously offers comfort and peace, peace surpassing our understanding.
Grieving is a natural process that requires time and grace. We allow ourselves to mourn, knowing that God wipes every tear and also holds us close to his heart.
Psalm 56:8 The Message
8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book.
In times of sorrow, we can draw strength from fond memories of the ones we have lost. Their legacy lives on through the impact they have had in our lives, and we can certainly thank God for the ways he has blessed us through them.
As we walk with God through our grief, through Scripture and prayer we find truest hope in the resurrection and eternal life promised in Christ, our Savior.
Looking not to our grief but trusting in all of God’s promises, we hold on to the assurance that our loved ones who have passed away are safe in his loving arms.
Bigger Gospel Picture: Our Sadness unto His Gladness
John 20:20-31 The Message
To Believe
19-20 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
20-21 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”
22-23 Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”
24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”
But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”
28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”
29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”
30-31 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
The first Easter did not look like a typical Easter celebration.
Before Jesus’ resurrection was discovered, the day was marked by tears, devastation, and bewilderment—not joy, hope, and praise.
The disciples were gathered out of fear, to protect one another, not to sing “Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!”[1]
1 Charles Wesley, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” (1739).
The truth is in their overwhelming grief and sadness, they sat in sadness; for them, their story had come to a grinding halt, with the next page 100% blank.
Or so they thought.
The Gospel does not attempt to deny or try to idealize the grief felt by Christ’s followers after His crucifixion.
They didn’t understand what had happened, and they certainly didn’t know what would happen next.
Their sadness reveals humanity’s limitations in knowing the bigger picture.
Despite the Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ own foretelling of His death (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34), John’s Gospel tells us that they “as yet did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20:9).
They didn’t understand that when Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished” (19:30), He was not expressing any defeat but declaring everlasting victory.
This victory meant resurrection.
And as the resurrected Savior came to the disciples in their darkness, fear, and sadness, He brought transformation.
Their unbelief turned to belief, an affirmation of faith, and their sadness turned unto His brand of gladness.
That gladness was rooted in the fact that they understood that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Their faith and their future returned and were rooted in this wonderful reality.
The darkness of their despair made the light of the resurrection all the more glorious.
If you are looking for an idol that will just make you glad, your search will be in vain, through the Scriptures and prayer you should look for the God of the Bible.
He does make us glad—more so than anyone or anything or anyplace else—but He often starts by making us sad.
We are saddened by this broken world, saddened by our own sin, saddened that on the cross Jesus died for our wickedness, disobedience, and disinterest.
It is only through truly feeling such sorrow that we can fully understand the gladness that comes with our account being settled, our debt being paid, our sins being forgiven, and our wrongs being forgiven and forgotten. (Psalm 32)
We can know the gladness of a love that loves us even though we are not worthy of it—that loves us when we don’t want to listen.
What kind of love is this?
It is the love of God for men and women, for you and me!
Today, look away from yourself and look at Him.
This is love, and when we know we are loved in this way, we are able to see the healing in the harm, sadness can be the soil in which eternal gladness grows.
About which part of your life—perhaps a part full of pain, or regret, or anxiety—do you need to hear this today?
Remember that whatever you are walking through, it remains true that Christ the Lord is risen, Christ the Lord is fully Alive and we can all sing, Hallelujah!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Compassionate God, in our grief may we find comfort in you. Draw near and hold us close as we mourn. Thank you for all of your promises. Thank you for understanding our pain and our tears. Help us to find hope in the resurrection and eternal life you have made possible for us in thy Son Jesus. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Psalm 84 New American Standard Bible 1995
Longing for the Temple Worship.
For the choir director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. [b]Selah.
5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In [c]whose heart are the highways to Zion!
6 Passing through the valley of [d]Baca they make it a [e]spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength,
[f]Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
9 Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold [g]from those who walk [h]uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 