God Grief

God Grief

You probably thought that was a typo. It wasn’t. In the past two weeks, the most comforting thing that happened while trying to wrap my head around putting my best friend to rest was the realization that God understands our grief. Before the casket closed, and I saw my best friend’s physical face for the last time, one of the people asked to speak talked about Lazarus.

Head Knowledge

There’s a pretty big difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Objectively I could imagine God in heaven being grieved about the Israelites sinning against him countless times after He had saved them over and over again. I could imagine HIm listening to Jesus’ prayer to “take this cup” from him and when Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for our sins. But, that was all in my head. I knew it but I didn’t actually KNOW it. You know what I mean?

Heart Knowledge

The verse John 11:35 “Jest wept.” has a special place in my heart. It was the first and last verse my mother taught my youngest daughter. Her practice was to put bible verses to a melody and teach them. She and I would sing it with them all week until they knew it. Then on Sunday when she would see them at church she always had some kind of candy to give them for having memorized it.  My baby girl was only two when Mom passed and “Jesus wept” was just the right size verse to teach her. But, it wasn’t until this week that I knew with my heart how personally God knew our grief. Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died and He felt it with his whole heart. He wept.

Comfort in Sorrow

I was not expecting to get a comforting realization in the midst of my sorrow, but that is exactly what happened. Jesus knows on a very human level what it feels like to lose someone. He knows our grief and gives comfort in our sorrow. God isn’t some distant being who doesn’t intimately understand the inner workings of our minds, our struggles, challenges, or tragedies. In fact, He reacts the same way we do when confronted with the death of a loved one – He weeps. He didn’t tell Mary and Martha it would be ok. Nor did He offer platitudes or advice for how to overcome their grief – He wept with them.

Empathy

There is a disconnect in sympathy because the person offering condolences knows only with their head knowledge that there is something to be sad about. However, when someone has been through the same thing as you’re going through, their empathy hits different. They know. They have been through it and their heart knowledge is comforting. So when we read that weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning(Ps 30:5), we can be sure that this is true. The Great Comforter is there to comfort us in a way that only those who truly understand our sorrows can. We can be confident in taking everything to God in prayer because He knows.

How has God comforted you?