Few experiences in life can bring more pain than the death of a loved one. The circumstances surrounding the passing can make our anguish even greater, leaving our hearts and minds awash with unanswered questions. “Where is God in all of this?” we cry. “How could he have let this happen?” After all, Jesus healed people and even raised them from the dead. In Luke 7, we read of how, full of compassion, he brought a widow’s son back to life. John 11 tells us of the death of Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus. Verses 33-37 say that Jesus saw all the mourning and was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (NIV) and that he wept. And then he raised Lazarus from the dead.
But no such miracle saved our loved one!
Our Creator and Father never intended for evil, suffering, and sorrow to be part of the life he originally made for us. But our sin brings death. So the Father sent Jesus who came to destroy the works of Satan and to pay the penalty for those sins by dying on a Roman cross. As a result, he promises us eternal life and a new body one day in a restored world free of sorrow, anguish, and death (Revelation 21:1-7).
Until then, we can be assured that the Lord weeps with us in our pain, walks with us through it, suffers along with us. He reminds us of our unfailing hope of restoration and of heaven for all who will believe in what Jesus did for us, who will yield their lives and hearts to him in joyful submission and sincere repentance.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that you feel our pain. Thank you for making a way to heaven through your death on the cross for our sins. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
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