Last year, my husband passed away a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Yet I felt thankful that we’d had decades together. Thankful, too, that he no longer suffered and that, thanks to Hospice and the grace of God, he was able to stay home.
A few years earlier, my older sister endured months of chemotherapy with a positive attitude and a strong determination to make it at least until Christmas. She did. With all three of her grown children around her, she lived through Christmas day then passed away just before midnight.
Later, someone asked if that would mar the holidays for our family forever, but no. We rejoiced in God’s grace that granted her final request.
We know we’ll see our loved ones again, but still we grieve. Countless others do too, and for many, the losses seem especially hard during the holidays. If that’s true for you, I pray the things that helped me will comfort you too.
God’s Word brings comfort.
Isaiah 53:3 prophesied what Jesus would one day endure, which reminds us that the Lord understands. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” King James Version (KJV.)
With the wisdom of God and His human experiences, Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted,” Matthew 5:4, KJV.
The Apostle Peter also understood grief and wrote, “After you have suffered for a while, the God of all grace Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and settle you. To Him belongs power forever. Amen,” 1 Peter 5:10-11.
Psalm 30:5 reminds us, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” KJV.
Writing out our feelings can be comforting.
Grief reaches into
the grave. Pulls up memories.
Waits for God’s comfort.
…
Lord, help us to get
out of this shadow of death
and into Your Light.
…
Weeping lasts the night,
but joy comes through the mourning
when we live in Christ.
...
Prayer brings comfort.
Our Heavenly Father listens and responds to our prayers, even if we only say, “God, help!” The Lord welcomes our spontaneity in talking with Him, and, if we’re too weary for words, His Holy Spirit prays on our behalf.
As Romans 8:216 promises, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
Throughout the Bible, we can find prayers that speak to and for us. For example, this prayer not only expresses what we might feel, it gives us encouragement and hope:
2 Corinthians 1:3–7 – a prayer of Paul
(as paraphrased in the Book of Bible Prayers)
"We praise You, God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ – Father
of compassion and God of all
comfort, Who comforts us in all
our troubles, so we can comfort
those in trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from
You. For as the sufferings of Christ
comes into our lives, so also the
comfort of Christ pours upon us.
If we suffer distress, let it be used
for the hope of Your people.
If we receive comfort, let it be used
to soothe others, thereby producing
the ability to endure patiently the
distresses we all suffer.
And so our hope is for Your people
to stand firm, because we know
that, as they share in our trials,
they also share in our relief."
Amen.
Thank you for sharing this space with me and adding what has helped you in the Comments section below.
Now may the Lord bring you comfort, encouragement, hope, and peace in Jesus’ Name.
Have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
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