‘God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.’ 2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT

When you lose someone you love, you go through a grieving process. And God will comfort you and walk you through it. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.’ (Matthew 5:4 NIV) Grieving is the healthy way to process your emotions, to express your pain and move beyond it. Recovery doesn’t happen overnight; it happens in proportion to the size of your loss. Only small losses are healed quickly.

Zig Ziglar says: ‘The longest twenty hours of my life were those right after my daughter’s death. When making her funeral arrangements, I had to listen to a salesman who was an incessant talker, and who told me thirty times that he wasn’t a salesman. Twice I had to leave the room; I simply couldn’t handle him. The night before, half asleep and half awake, I kept thinking my daughter was wondering when her daddy was coming to get her. The next morning I took a walk, praying and crying the whole way. When I returned, the Lord spoke to me in such a distinct way: “She’s fine. She’s with me, and you’re going to be fine too. I’m all you need. Keep walking. Keep talking. Keep praying. Keep crying.”’

Grief and loss can’t be solved, but they are experiences you don’t have to go through alone. The best-known Psalm in Scripture says, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.’ (Psalm 23:4 NKJV)

The sun will shine again. ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’ (Psalm 30:5 NKJV) Your joy will return—God promises it!

SoulFood: Esther 5–10, Matt 26:1–17, Ps 18:1–29, Pr 26:24–27

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©