23
Aug '18
Hope in Grief
23
Aug '18
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. (Luke 24:31)
When I was nineteen, one of my close friends was killed in a car accident. In the following weeks and months, I walked each day in a tunnel of grief. The pain of losing someone so young and wonderful clouded my vision, and at times I even felt unaware of what was going on around me. I felt so blinded by pain and grief that I simply could not see God.
In Luke 24, two disciples, confused and brokenhearted after Jesus’s death, didn’t realize they were walking with their resurrected Teacher Himself, even as He explained from Scripture why the promised Savior had to die and rise again. Only when He took bread and broke it was it revealed that this was Jesus (vv. 30–31). Although the followers of Jesus had faced death in all its horror when Jesus died, through His resurrection from the dead God showed them how to hope again.
Like those disciples, we might feel weighed down with confusion or grief. But we can find hope and comfort in the reality that Jesus is alive and at work in the world—and in us. Although we still face heartache and pain, we can welcome Christ to walk with us in our tunnel of grief. As the Light of the world (John 8:12), He can bring rays of hope to brighten our fog.
Lord God, thank You for being the light in the darkness. Bring hope when I’m sad and confused, and help me to see Your glory. Amen.
When I read this devotion I was reminded, though we grieve, we have hope in Jesus. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). I am so grateful that no matter what we face The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18). Nothing is ever too far out of the reach of God’s grasp so just remember whatever your facing today, grief, sadness, loneliness, He is able to comfort you and bring you through victoriously. Seek His face.
Have a beautiful and uplifting day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is 2 Corinthians 7:1