The Final Goal: Trust And Sadness

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Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. – Proverbs 14:13

In early 1994, when our family found out that the US football team would be playing in my home state of Michigan in the World Cup, we knew we had to go.

What a great time we had as we went to the Pontiac Silverdome to see the US take on Switzerland! It was one of the most remarkable events of our lives.

There was just one problem. One of our four children, 9-year-old Melissa, couldn’t join us. While we enjoyed the event, it was not the same without her. Even in our joy at being there, we felt sadness because of her absence.

As I think back on that day, I’m reminded that our sadness then is a little like our sadness now that Melissa is gone from this life—having died in a car accident 8 years after that game. While we cherish the help of the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3), even that great comfort doesn’t change the reality of her empty chair at family gatherings. Scripture doesn’t tell us that God wipes away our sadness in this life, but it does tell us that God is faithful and will comfort us.

If you have lost a loved one, lean heavily on God’s comfort. Keep trusting Him. But know that it’s okay to feel
sadness for this absence. Consider it one more reason to pour your burdens on your loving heavenly Father.
—Dave Branon

Earth has no sorrow that heaven does not feel.