by Losing someone dear to us leaves an emptiness that seems difficult to fill regardless of the amount of time that passes. Many of us have walked through this “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4), sinking under the pain of bereavement, even speaking the Martha’s words, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21). These words were spoken to God Almighty, who Himself is seen grieving as it is recorded later that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
As born-again believers, our perspective of life and death is different than the world’s. Our hope lies in Jesus’ words spoken before He grieved. He reminded us how temporal death and grief are, and how eternal our life is. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).
Exemplified by the Man Christ Jesus, it is physically healthy to release our emotions and to express our grief. Through this process, it is God’s presence that makes all the difference. This is a great comfort to believers, knowing our God walked where we walk, experienced our grief, and understands even when we feel no one knows what we are going through. He reminds us Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:” Having walked in our shoes, He now walks by our side as our “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). He promised He will hold us up when we are sinking in a storm of grief.
The seasons of life are a reality, with “a time to die” and “a time to mourn.” As we allow these times of grief to be expressed, not letting them to paralyze us and shutdown our lives, the emptiness will be filled in God’s time, once again with “a time to laugh” and “a time to love” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
