“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.” (Revelation 21:4 nlt)
One of the most unpredictable headwinds we face in this life is grief. Grief can be expected in the aftermath of a loss. But it isn’t confined to a specific period of mourning. There’s no way to anticipate how long it will last or when it will come roaring back without warning.
Though we may not fully understand grief, we have a Savior who does. Isaiah 53:3–4 says, “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!” (nlt).
Not only did He carry our sin, but He also carried our sorrows. He was acquainted with our grief. He has a deep and abiding concern for our emotional well-being. The psalmist wrote, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8 nlt).
On a tour of Israel several years ago, I was exploring the old city of Jerusalem with my sons, Christopher andJonathan. At one point in our ramblings, we stopped at an antiquities store, and I noticed a number of little bottles invarious sizes and shapes. I asked the shopkeeper, “Sir, what are these bottles for?”
“Oh,” he said, “those are Roman tear bottles.”
“What were they used for?” I asked.
“Well,” he replied, “the Romans believed that when a loved one dies, you need to keep your tears in a bottle. So, they would store their tears in these little containers.”
I have a tear bottle now. But it isn’t on earth; it’s in Heaven. And I’m not the one who has to collect my tears because God said He would do that.
Why does God keep our tears in a bottle? Because He sees and cares about every one of them. He takes note of ourevery tear. He hears our every sigh.
Revelation 21:4 says, “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” (nlt). We can look forward to that day, knowing that grief will have no place in our eternal life with God.
In the meantime, we can take our feelings of sorrow and loss to the One who designed us, who understands us, and who knows how to comfort and heal us. Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” (nlt).
But it doesn’t stop there. The apostle Paul wrote, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:4 nlt).
No one is better equipped to help someone through their grief journey than someone who has traveled the road themselves.
Reflection question: What has been your experience with grief?
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Greg Laurie is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and of Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author, and movie producer. His latest film ‘Jesus Revolution,’ from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, is now available on-demand worldwide.
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