When Loss Is Experienced
God takes no pleasure in our sorrow and grief,… BUT He will take part in them. Since it is inevitable that we will experience difficulty, it is expedient to know how best to deal with it. The following is not only applicable in times of sorrow, it is pertinent in times of trying to solve all of our challenges.
Calling us to come out of the cave of self-bewilderment Jesus said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
The Greek word for comfort is the word “parakaleo.” It’s formed from two words: para, which means “close or near,” and kaleo, which means “to call, invite, invoke, or beseech.” Thus, mourning, or any form of sorrow, is an invitation to come closer to God. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4: 8) This enables healing to be found amid hurting.
Pay special attention to the relationship. We are to draw near to Him. That is contrary to the way many respond when hurting most. There is a tendency to become more introverted and often accuse and blame God. Don’t retreat from Him, instead draw near to Him. He is awaiting your response.
“Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 30: 18)
It is not so much that God gives us sorrow to draw us near to Him, but that in life it happens often and God wants to use it to comfort us.
Amid the turbulence in the storms of your life listen and you will hear His invitation, “parakaleo.”
SORROW HELPS US IDENTIFY WITH JESUS
At the tomb of Lazarus it is said, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). If He wept, and He did, we should not expect not to weep.
Jesus enquired where they had laid the body of Lazarus, saying, “’Where have you laid him?” They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept” (11:33-35).
SORROW HELPS US RELATE TO OTHERS WHO ARE SUFFERING
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” I Corinthians 1: 3, 4
Sorrow in our own problems helps us relate to others in theirs.
For followers of Jesus their sorrow is an opportunity to witness His faithfulness by their example of dependence and the comfort they receive. People are watching.
At a time of great tribulation in Jerusalem the Lord said, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people…” (Isaiah 40: 1) The same call goes out to today’s hurting world.