ODB: Grieving From A to Z
November 14, 2011 READ: Lamentations 3:25-33 Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion. —Lamentations 3:32 Jerusalem was engulfed in flames, and the prophet Jeremiah wept. His prediction of divine judgment had largely gone unheeded. Now his terrible prophecy had come to pass with horrifying vividness. The short book of Lamentations records the prophet’s [...]
ODB: Healing from Heaven
October 3, 2011
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:1-10
Blessed be . . . the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. —2 Corinthians 1:3
Thomas Moore (1779–1852) was an Irish songwriter, singer, and poet. His talents brought joy to many who saw him perform or who sang his music. Yet, tragically, his personal life was troubled by repeated heartaches, including the death of all five of his children during his lifetime. Moore’s personal wounds make these words of his all the more meaningful: “Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” This moving statement reminds us that meeting with God in prayer can bring healing to the troubled soul.
The apostle Paul also saw how our heavenly Father can provide solace to the hurting heart. To the believers at Corinth he wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Sometimes, though, we can be so preoccupied with an inner sorrow that we isolate ourselves from the One who can offer consolation. We need to be reminded that God’s comfort and healing come through prayer.
As we confide in our Father, we can experience peace and the beginning of healing for our wounded hearts. For truly “earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.”
— Dennis Fisher
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...ODB: The Mercy of God
September 11, 2011
READ: Psalm 31:9-15
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! —Psalm 31:9
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001. It’s hard to think about that date without mental images of the destruction, grief, and loss that swept over America and the world following those tragic events. The loss of thousands of lives was compounded by the depth of loss felt corporately—a lost sense of security as a country. The sorrow of loss, personal and corporate, will always accompany the memory of the events of that day.
Those horrific events are not the only painful memories of September 11. It also marks the anniversary of my father-in-law’s death. Jim’s loss is felt deeply within our family and his circle of friends.
No matter what kind of sorrow we experience, there is only one real comfort—the mercy of God. David, in his own heartache, cried to his heavenly Father, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body!” (Ps. 31:9). Only in the mercy of God can we find comfort for our pain and peace for our troubled hearts.
In all losses, we can turn to the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who alone can heal our brokenness and grief.
— Bill Crowder
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: Joy In The Morning
July 26, 2011
READ: Psalm 40:1-5
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. —Psalm 30:5
Angie could not see through the fogged-up windows in her car. Inadvertently, she pulled out in front of a truck. The accident caused such damage to her brain that she could no longer speak or take care of herself.
Over the years, I have been amazed at the resiliency of Angie’s parents. Recently I asked them, “How have you managed to get through this experience?” Her father thoughtfully responded, “In all honesty, the only way we have been able to do this is by drawing close to God. He gives us the strength we need to help us through.”
Angie’s mother agreed and added that around the time of the accident their grieving was so deep that they wondered if they would ever have joy again. As they both leaned upon God, they experienced countless unexpected provisions for the physical and spiritual care of Angie and their entire family. Although Angie may never regain her ability to speak, she now responds to them with wide smiles and this gives them joy. Her parents’ favorite verse continues to be: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Have you experienced extreme sorrow? There is the promise of future joy amid your tears as you lean upon our loving Lord.
— Dennis Fisher
Leave your sorrows with Jesus, the “Man of Sorrows.”
Source: Our Daily Bread
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5) Loading ...ODB: Trust and Sadness
May 26, 2011
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11
Even in laughter the heart may sorrow. —Proverbs 14:13
In early 1994, when our family found out that the US soccer team would be playing in 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 Cor. 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 place your burdens on your loving heavenly Father.
— Dave Branon
Earth has no sorrow that heaven does not feel.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...ODJ: power failure
Your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command (v.14).
READ: 1 Samuel 13:5-14
An impromptu high-wire act by a 26-year-old man caused a portion of Dongguan, a city in China, to experience a blackout. The man had lost his job and chose to drown his sorrows by drinking heavily. After his binge, the drunken one climbed a high voltage cable tower and began walking and hanging on the power cables. When firemen couldn’t coax him down, they ordered the electricity to be shut off so he wouldn’t electrocute himself. Four hours later, the guy finally fell . . . landing softly on a safety cushion where he was “greeted” by police. King Saul once had a power surge (1 Samuel 10:6), but he lost it all due to a rash decision. In the span of just four chapters, we find the prophet Samuel anointing Saul as Israel’s king (13:1) and then informing him that God had rejected him as ruler of His people (v.14). Why the abrupt change? Samuel made it plain to Saul: “Because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” The command was clear. Samuel told Saul to camp out at Gilgal for a week until he arrived there to “sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings” (10:8). But the king got uptight when the mighty Philistine army with “as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore” (13:5) caused his army to begin “trembling with fear” (v.7). With his army defecting and growing smaller by the hour, Saul (literally) chose to play with fire and did the burnt offering himself (v.9). That’s when Samuel caught him red-hot-handed and gave him the bad news—his days on the throne were numbered. Have you been tempted to make a rash decision—one that doesn’t honor God? Fear can cause us to short-circuit our faith and future. Let’s choose to obey God instead. He’s got all the power we need. —Tom Felten
What fear or concern is causing you to consider a decision that will defy God’s commands? Why is it vital that you choose to obey God instead?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: upside down
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength (v.25).
READ: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
My friend’s sister is due to give birth, and no one is happy about it. Her baby has Trisomy 18, a fatal disease that will likely claim the infant just minutes after she is born. It seems fiendishly upside down that the baby is alive as long as she remains within her mother, but the moment she is born she will begin to die. Cutting the umbilical cord is not her liberating path to life, but a death sentence. What should be a day of joy will commence a season of mourning.
This situation would be entirely hopeless if not for Jesus. He has reversed this tragically twisted scenario with an equally ironic moment that leads in the opposite direction. Just as this baby’s birth is really a death, so Jesus’ death conceals the power of life.
God may have never appeared weaker than when Jesus hung on the cross, naked and broken and bearing the guilt of the world. But this moment of weakness was actually God’s greatest triumph, for Jesus took death with Him into the depths, and when He arose He left death in the dust. Death died in the death of Christ.
Martin Luther observed that it takes faith to believe this “theology of the cross.” Most people take a commonsense view of the world, believing that what they see is what they get. But we who interpret life through the lens of the cross learn to raise a fist of defiance at death.
It may seem that death has won, for it has taken our loved ones from us. But Jesus’ death and resurrection assure us that death does not have the last word, for the grave where we say goodbye is resurrection ground.
(My friend’s niece was born—and died—days after I wrote this devo. Her parents named her Hope.) —Mike Wittmer
Why was Hope the perfect name for this baby girl? Can you think of other counterintuitive truths of the Christian faith, where reality is not as it appears?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: a different Christmas
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (v.4).
READ: Revelation 21:1-7
With gifts wrapped and under the tree, Christmas Eve came to a close. God’s goodness had been evident, but this year was different. Unfolding blankets and sheets, my husband and I created beds of the two couches in our family room. My husband’s parents, who live in town, were using our bedroom upstairs. Three months earlier, their oldest son—and only other child—had ended his life. Keeping them close, we wanted to remind them of what they still had as they continued to grieve what had been lost.
Christmas can be complicated. While parties, gifts, and family reunions are certainly blessings, they can’t take away the pain of broken relationships, absent loved ones, or unmet expectations. Without question, God is the Unchanging One who is the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17). But He is also a God who is well-acquainted with our suffering (Isaiah 53:3). Even the humble beauty of the nativity remains incomplete without the cross.
Not your typical Advent passage, Revelation 21 reminds us that we will one day experience a new heaven and new earth. The purpose in Christ putting on flesh was to restore what had been lost. God with us (Matthew 1:23). He not only comforts us in our sorrows, but He has promised that “He will live with [us], and [we] will be His people. God Himself will be with [us]” (v.3). The turmoil present in the world reminds us, “All creation has been groaning . . . . And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us . . . for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering” (Romans 8:22-23). Anxiously awaiting Jesus’ return, we are to celebrate His hope as He holds us in both our joy and our pain. —Regina Franklin
Are there aspects of this Christmas season that have been difficult for you? Why must hope be something we choose and not a feeling we wait to experience?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODJ: God’s perplexing answers
I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it (v.5).
READ: Habakkuk 1:5-2:1
My best friend’s mother just passed away. In an attempt to cheer her up, I brought her to a scenic spot in Singapore where we could watch the sunset. But upon arriving at my chosen location, I saw that the sky was overcast. The weather, it seemed, was as gloomy as our feelings. I wondered: God, why didn’t You give us a blue sky and sunshine to remind my friend of Your love? Surely it’s within Your power to provide it. Why would You deny this good thing to my friend?
Imagine Habakkuk’s anguish when he heard God’s reply to his complaint concerning Judah’s wickedness. God told him that He would use the Babylonians, pagans who were worse than the sinning Jews, to punish His covenant people (1:6). This was definitely not what he wanted to hear!
The Babylonians were notorious for their cruelty (v.7). They were bent on violence (v.9) and worshiped nothing but their military prowess (v.11). These enemies of God’s chosen people were sinful, self-centered, and ruthless. God couldn’t have chosen a worse people as the means of Judah’s correction.
Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we don’t want to hear. But when His ways are confusing, we need to trust His heart. God says, “I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
Habakkuk ends his prayer by stating that he would watch and wait for God’s answer (2:1). His response to undesired circumstances is a good example for us. Perplexing times shouldn’t drive us from God. Rather, like Habakkuk, we should humbly bring our concerns to Him and then wait for His answer.
Habakkuk learned to look at his circumstances through the prism of God’s character—instead of the other way around. Let’s do the same when we receive a perplexing answer from God. —Poh Fang Chia
What perplexing answer have you recently received from God? How does your perspective change when you view it through the light of His character?
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...AOTW: Grief is Messy
Article of the Week – Insights from Bill Crowder “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) The film “We Are Marshall,” tells of the November 14, 1970, plane crash that took the lives of [...]
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