light-in-a-pandemic

BONUS-DAILY BREAD SHARE OF THE DAY

Light in a Pandemic

This 25-day journey is full of devotional articles and reflections that will remind you of God’s presence and faithfulness in times of struggle.
Grief, God, and Gratitude

We find ourselves living in a time of significant grief. In addition to our personal challenges and losses, we face a historic pandemic, political strife, rekindled racial tensions, and economic uncertainty.

This is a season of deep grief, a grief that at times feels unyielding. However, we must also find a way to allow it to become a time of sincere gratitude. If we are to negotiate the grips of pain that lead to despair, our grief must learn to surrender to gratitude. We will never be completely finished with loss, but if there is to be healing and hope or the possibility of “shattered expectations” being redeemed, we must find, amid the pain, things for which we can say “thank you.”

The Bible, though a book of hope, is filled with stories of loss and grief. One example is the death of Lazarus. In this story, Jesus loses a good friend, whom He loves. And even though Jesus knows this story doesn’t end in death, that Lazarus will live again, He grieves. John 11:32–33 (NRSV) reads,

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.

Jesus said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

The Bible tells us “Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:34–36).

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) 1SG Dan Capri SGT Steve McFarland SrA John Monette SFC (Join to see) SPC Michael Terrell SMSgt Anil Heendeniya CPL Douglas Chrysler A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney GySgt Jack Wallace

The story tells us that Jesus, knowing the possibility of Lazarus” death, did not come quickly to heal him, but waited and entered the pain fully with Mary and Martha. Jesus wept for Lazarus with those grieving his death. He shared the weight of the loss, even while He trusted God to be present in the pain and the restoration. In this moment, we see an important set of truths: grief is an emotion that emerges as our defenses are stripped away or as we are forced to face losses that are inevitable in life.