Grief Is Not Despair

Though Christians may still grieve loss, we do not have to despair in it.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   In light of 2 Samuel 1, where David and his men learn of the death of Jonathan, King Saul, and many other fellow Israelites, we can imagine the disciples of Jesus feeling much like David, when they realized their Rabbi, their Leader, was slain by crucifixion. No doubt they mourned. But before the ink was dry on their song of lament, they received even more dramatic news, and that is that his grave was empty and that one of the ladies had seen the LORD alive, resurrected. So now, they were writing new songs! And Paul could write the famous words, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope…Therefore encourage one another with these words.” Do we still grieve? Yes. The humble in Christ grieve. We grieve with our mind on the kingdom. We grieve thoughtfully. We grieve because of personal loss. But we do not grieve without confidence, without Hope, without assurance. Grief is different than despair. We do not grieve as those without Hope. Grief sees the hole that is left, but is confident in God that He will fill the void. Despair thinks that the hole cannot be filled.