Overcoming: Devotions from Time of Graceنموونە

Grief and Loneliness

Have you ever gotten "the look"? After you've suffered a difficult blow, have you had people ask, "So, how are you?" You want to let all the frustration out, but you don't want to burden anyone. You don't want to whine and seem negative and obsessed with your problems, so you lie and say, "Fine."

You know what's even worse? When you've been slammed by disaster, don't you hate being patronized by people who maybe mean well but say dumb things like, "I know how you feel." You want to rage back, "You have no idea how I feel!"

Have you found the relief and comfort that comes from sharing your burdens with Jesus? Actually, he does indeed know how you feel. Isaiah says of our suffering Savior, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering" (Isaiah 53:3).

The emotional roller coaster of dealing with grief might make you want to isolate yourself. When you've been befriended by a fellow sufferer named Jesus, whose heart aches for you and with you, you will have much more patience with the people around you.