The prophet Jeremiah said, “I am burdened with sorrow and feel like giving up.” (Jeremiah 8:18 Contemporary English Version)
Grief has a way of coming to us. Sadness eventually knocks at our door. If we live long enough, there is no escaping it.
When President Calvin Coolidge was finishing his term in office, his advisers wanted him to run again in the 1928 election. He responded, "When my only son died, it took all the glory out of the presidency."
The deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal. How long does one grieve the loss of a parent, a child, a spouse, a close friend? The answer is simple: you grieve as long as you need to.
When I think of tragedy and grief, I think about an incident in the life of another president, Theodore Roosevelt. As a young man, he had the most horrible day that anybody could imagine. His mother and his wife died on the same day.
He wrote these words in his journal on February 14, 1884: “The light has gone out of my life. For joy or sorrow, my life has now been lived out.” But he was wrong. Over time, God brought healing to his life. He went on to become one of the great leaders of the last century.
I am so thankful today that God will do that for us. God is especially near to those with a broken heart. The Psalmist wrote, “God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (147:3)
Are you struggling today with sadness and grief? Through our tears, let’s reach out for the hand of God. God is reaching for you!