You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water… I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:1, 8
We all suffer losses. Sometimes we endure declining health or the loss of a job. Maybe we experience a divorce or the death of someone we love. As humans living in a fallen world, we do suffer. Jesus says in John 16:33 that in this world we WILL have suffering and loss. Not maybe. Not might have. But we will. But also in that same verse, Jesus says in Him we may have peace. Without the peace and presence of Jesus, hope and healing remain elusive.
February 17, 2009. I had no idea what the day would hold. When I received the call that my brother had died suddenly, my whole world turned upside down. There had been no warning signs. No chance to say good-bye. He was 48. Logan had a massive heart attack and in a split second, he was gone. He left behind a wife and two daughters, parents, a brother, coworkers, friends. And me, his sister. One day I was talking with him on the phone and the next week, I was attending his memorial service. Words cannot express the depth of my pain.
Grieving is a lonely process. I spent many hours over the course of the next few weeks and months grieving and pondering the “why’s”. Thoughts swirled around in my head while my heart ached. I am thankful for several Christian friends who came alongside me, walking with me, listening to me, and just being there for me.
Oftentimes in our deepest despair, we wonder where God is. In those times, we feel God has abandoned us. Like the Psalmist who cries out “God, where are you?” we also cry out. Only to hear silence in return. But like the Psalmist, we too can find God in the midst of our pain and loss. By reading His Word, especially the Psalms, we begin to realize that God shows up, just not as we expect. It isn’t some sudden happy feeling that lets me know He’s there. Rather it’s in the silence, in the darkness, where a fleeting glimpse manifests His presence. That tiny peek into His nearness grows the more I read His Word. My untrusting heart follows my mind’s leading until I, too, like the Psalmist, can say I trust in You, O Lord. In You, I find my strength.
Only when I come to the end of myself and realize I can’t heal me on my own strength do I begin to sense His presence and His peace. When relying on God is the only thing I can do, I come to trust Him more. When I search for Him in a dry and parched land as David did in Psalm 63, I cling to Him and He upholds me with His righteous right hand.
Suffering strips away all of our props. When we cling to God for life itself, we find Him. When our dreams shatter, we realize that trusting God through the pain and loving Him no matter what is what matters most of all. Even when our circumstances are unbearable, God bears us up. He sets our feet on higher ground. Because He loves us most of all.
Allow God to use the pain in your life to draw you closer to Him, into a more intimate walk with the Savior who loves you so much that He suffered loss, too…on a cross for you and for me.
Dear Jesus, I thank You for Your words of comfort and for Your promise of peace in the midst of my pain. Draw me closer to You in this dry and parched land. May I cling tightly to You as You uphold me. Help me trust You more as You lead me to hope and healing. Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
We all suffer losses. Sometimes we endure declining health or the loss of a job. Maybe we experience a divorce or the death of someone we love. As humans living in a fallen world, we do suffer. Jesus says in John 16:33 that in this world we WILL have suffering and loss. Not maybe. Not might have. But we will. But also in that same verse, Jesus says in Him we may have peace. Without the peace and presence of Jesus, hope and healing remain elusive.
February 17, 2009. I had no idea what the day would hold. When I received the call that my brother had died suddenly, my whole world turned upside down. There had been no warning signs. No chance to say good-bye. He was 48. Logan had a massive heart attack and in a split second, he was gone. He left behind a wife and two daughters, parents, a brother, coworkers, friends. And me, his sister. One day I was talking with him on the phone and the next week, I was attending his memorial service. Words cannot express the depth of my pain.
Grieving is a lonely process. I spent many hours over the course of the next few weeks and months grieving and pondering the “why’s”. Thoughts swirled around in my head while my heart ached. I am thankful for several Christian friends who came alongside me, walking with me, listening to me, and just being there for me.
Oftentimes in our deepest despair, we wonder where God is. In those times, we feel God has abandoned us. Like the Psalmist who cries out “God, where are you?” we also cry out. Only to hear silence in return. But like the Psalmist, we too can find God in the midst of our pain and loss. By reading His Word, especially the Psalms, we begin to realize that God shows up, just not as we expect. It isn’t some sudden happy feeling that lets me know He’s there. Rather it’s in the silence, in the darkness, where a fleeting glimpse manifests His presence. That tiny peek into His nearness grows the more I read His Word. My untrusting heart follows my mind’s leading until I, too, like the Psalmist, can say I trust in You, O Lord. In You, I find my strength.
Only when I come to the end of myself and realize I can’t heal me on my own strength do I begin to sense His presence and His peace. When relying on God is the only thing I can do, I come to trust Him more. When I search for Him in a dry and parched land as David did in Psalm 63, I cling to Him and He upholds me with His righteous right hand.
Suffering strips away all of our props. When we cling to God for life itself, we find Him. When our dreams shatter, we realize that trusting God through the pain and loving Him no matter what is what matters most of all. Even when our circumstances are unbearable, God bears us up. He sets our feet on higher ground. Because He loves us most of all.
Allow God to use the pain in your life to draw you closer to Him, into a more intimate walk with the Savior who loves you so much that He suffered loss, too…on a cross for you and for me.
Dear Jesus, I thank You for Your words of comfort and for Your promise of peace in the midst of my pain. Draw me closer to You in this dry and parched land. May I cling tightly to You as You uphold me. Help me trust You more as You lead me to hope and healing. Amen.
Copyright © 2015 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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