Grief and loss. That’s a good way to describe what people throughout the world are experiencing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Loss of normalcy. Loss of connection. Loss of church life. Loss of vacations. Loss of school. That’s a lot of loss.
I remember a few weeks ago when I began to feel the loss in my own heart. Once I began to realize what was going on with the pandemic, I realized also that my normal American life was going to be severely interrupted. I did not like it. I was grieved. I realized that church would not be the same, and I love going to church! It was a loss, and I was going to miss it.
We need to talk about these losses, and we need to recognize them for what they are and the grief they cause. We need to let them soak in and wait patiently for the time when we will adjust. That time does come, and God speaks comfort to our hearts.
When we experience grief and loss, it’s easy to think that God is distant or far away from us. However, the Bible teaches us that grief and loss are part of God’s plan.
Jesus’ Experience of Grief and Loss
Jesus Himself entered into the world of grief and loss. I want to look at one particular example of that in His life: the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a time when Jesus contemplated the severe grief of the cross and struggled with it in the depths of His being. Continue reading “Thy Will Be Done”