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To live a life with Jesus is to be certain that everything you experience, He experiences. Whatever sorrows and challenges you face, He is there with you. To know that one is not alone in times of grief and loss is a great comfort. Jesus is the certain presence when loss strikes, and He is the One who will always stay no matter how life hurts.
Grief is part of this life. A most difficult and painful part. Jesus knows that. To believe in Him is to be assured that He will remain with you in a season of grief. He will stay with you when He does indeed turn the night of mourning into a morn of joy. It will come. Jesus promised. Trust His reliable and faithful heart.
Lord Jesus, sorrows in life come in ways we cannot predict or avoid and in ways so terribly painful. Lord, help us to rely on Your ever-present love and strength to see us through seasons of sadness. You are the God of all time and place and we trust You in all the days of our lives. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Small steps. Sometimes this is what constitutes a leap in the realm of grief. The weight of grief can be so dense after a significant loss that to take small steps to accomplilsh routine tasks reflects good strides in healing. Everyone goes through times of grief. Grief weakens. However, Christ Himself strengthens.
Jesus in in those small steps. Jesus makes them possible. When our strength fails, His does not. His strength cannot fail. Trust this. Jesus wants you to rely on Him and His strength to go through life’s challenges. His love is strong. It is His love that will uphold you in the small steps and into the larger ones. Jesus stays. Know that He will support your small steps to live again with hope.
Lord, You know how painful losses are and the weakness they bring. Lord, Thank You for Your steady and strong arm to lean on in life’s sorrows. Thank You, Lord, for being our certainty when life hurts. Oh, how we need Thee, Lord Jesus. Oh, how we love Thee, Amen.
Where is your hope today? Is in in yourself or in Jesus? Think about your answer. Believers in Jesus may respond as a reflex and think, of course, it is in Jesus. However, human tendencies can sometimes mar the faith it takes to really put the full weight of hope in the Person of Jesus. Especially when circumstances in this world are painful and complex, and seem to require a human touch to fix them rather than the Divine Hand to guide them.
Hope can ebb and flow. Even for Christians. There may be seasons in life that deplete hope; often these are seasons of sorrow and challenge. But God in Christ assures us that we are not allow in these seasons. Jesus stays. Jesus soothes. The Holy Spirit inspires and instructs. Where is your hope today? If it is firmly in Jesus, praise Him. If it is in yourself, seek Him. He wants to carry you and your needs in His loving care. Let Him.
Lord Jesus, to follow You is to be sure by faith that You steady those in times of challenge. Thank You, Jesus for Your calm presence. Thank You, Jesus, for Your unending hope. All fountains are in You. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
The wonder of God goes far beyond what blesses us based on our desires. The wonder of God is that He can bless us in times when life is not at all as we desire. To continue to follow God’s beloved Son, Jesus, is to develop a trust in the Lord who promised to be with you no matter what you face in life. When life is good and easy, trusting God is easy. When life brings challenge, loss, and pain, trust is far harder. But it is only in times of trial that one can truly know the faithfulness of God’s presence. Often, it is not until one is well out of a season of trial that the consistency of God’s presence is most clear.
To follow Jesus is not so much rooted in our steps as in His. To follow Him is to put full confidence in what He said He would do–Be there. He promises to be with you no matter what life brings and what life does not bring. To follow the Star that is Christ is to be certain by faith that He is not going to weaken His hold on you, even if you weaken your hold on Him. He will be there, abiding in His steadfast love for you. Will you accept that love? No matter what? This is what true love is all about. Believing that One will be there always. Jesus will.
Lord, You promised. To be there. To stay there. Guide the hearts of those who need to feel the comfort of Your promise. Soothe those who doubt. Thank You eternally, Jesus, that You promised. In Thee, Amen.
LOVE ABIDES
And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
To think that love abides in the throes of loss is most difficult to reconcile. Pain is not often equated with love. When loss comes and grief follows, love is challenging. Hope is weak. Sorrow stays; for a time. In a society that emphasizes the euphoria of love, the truth of love’s abiding presence even in sad times seems impossible. Because of Jesus, all is possible. Because of Jesus, love abides.
Love does not leave when loss comes. It abides in a different form. It lives in memories, character, witness, and possibilities. A range of years or a speck of experience in love moves to transform, better, and ennoble love’s recipients. When love is known in Jesus, love has a supernatural quality that transcends human knowledge and feelings so love can thrive in a new way. This may be difficult to see, feel or believe in times of sorrow. But Jesus is the reason why love abides and reveals itself in new ways.
If you or someone you know is going through a season of grief that is painful and is seems as though all hope is gone, know that the Lord understands this grief. Better than the griever. Grief brings a maze of emotions and can confuse thinking and blur perspective. The Lord can and does make meaning out of loss when He is invited to do so. Asking Jesus for help and healing is to receive it. Although it may be a long walk through a season of grief, Jesus will be your companion through it. Jesus Himself will be the steady source of strength to uphold you.
Loss may make people reticent to love again, care or be cared for. This is normal for a time. But hope in Jesus is life-giving. And for as long as life continues, it is the hope of Jesus’ heart that love will abide. While grief’s stay brings its web of challenges, grief does eventually ebb and leave. When it does, love in its new form is clear. Love, as promised in God’s Word, does abide.
Lord Jesus, You are the strength in times of human weakness. You are the One to make meaning out of love’s mystery. Thank You, Jesus, for being the reason why and how love abides—no matter what. Kindly bring hope to those who need to be reminded again of Your sustaining touch and renewing Spirit. In Thee, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Three Kings Ministries 