Grace To Get You Through

Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21)

Rick Warren wrote, “Grief is a part of life, but you can’t let a season of grief turn into a lifestyle of grief. At some point you have to let it go.”

I awakened a few hours ago to the sound of a mother’s whaling cries. It did not take long to realize that the cries were those of my neighbour who only 72 hours prior to that, bent over her porch with a wide grin on her face giving congratulations to my young daughter on becoming a first time mother and to me on becoming a first time grandma… She was clearly very excited, as evidenced by what she said, in part, “Congratulations! I am so happy for you all…..”
But who could have known that within a few hours, her joy and laughter as she celebrated with us would be turned into so much pain, grief and sadness? There are no words to describe the shock that rocked her household, the community and even my workplace. I felt her pain. It is painful enough when you loose a loved one when they are still in infancy, but when you have raised your child and you watch him grow into a young adult at the age of eighteen, what can anyone say to you that would ease your pain of loosing your son to death in such a tragic way? I can hardly think of what to say to anyone in that situation except to pray that God will give her and the rest of the bereaved family more of His grace and strength to get them through that difficult time.

It is God who gives us the grace to get us through whatever we are going through. It is a tough choice to make also, because you can choose to become bitter or better. You can choose to curse and blame God and suffer the consequences or you can choose to become naked before Him and bless Him through your worship. You can choose to wallow in pity but you do not have to allow it to define you. Becoming bitter and resentful makes no sense and it helps no one. It does not improve your status, your circumstance or whatever you may be going through today.

The word declares that “in all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:21) So like him, maintain your focus and trust God because some things will just never make sense. Put your hope in God, reach out to Him, be courageous and allow God to strengthen you, heal your wounds and give you His grace to get you through. He is in total control. He knows all things and nothing takes Him by surprise.

It was a happy ending for Job as God restored to him far much more than what he had before he lost all his children and his possession. A wonderful lesson it was because it shows that no matter what grief, pain or loss you and I may have experienced, God can turn your hurt into triumph and victory and make the rest of your life the absolute best days of your life.