God of the ImpossibleSample

Day 6: Lessons in Grief and Pain (Nothing is Wasted):

Today, we’re talking about the powerful lessons we learn only through grief and pain.

While it may seem like our hardships and trials are without purpose, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. These events aren’t just to bring God glory, but to also teach us invaluable lessons about ourselves, others, and even about God’s character.

First, let’s take a look at how the enemy manipulates and twists the story. In an attempt to prolong our grieving process, the enemy will attempt to make us deny the situation. “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV). He is able to get us to forget what we know to be true and fills our heads and hearts with lies—all in an effort to further discourage and isolate us from God. Unfortunately, after my mother’s passing, his lies worked on me for a short time.

In believing the lies of the enemy, I had forgotten the promises of God. My mother’s life was in God’s hands. In Psalm 139:16 (NIV), King David stated, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” I had forgotten this truth from God's Word pertained to my mother. As a child of God herself, God planned not only the events of her life, but also the moment of her death. And I had to believe, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan” (Ephesians 1:11, NLT).

God is a good Father. He knows what you will face moving forward and He knows how to prepare you for it. In my life, He used the grief to highlight areas that needed divine intervention—areas that I was trying to fix on my own but would never be able to. God is an amazing Father!

What areas is He bringing attention to in your life? What areas of your life is He not Lord over?

As I look at God’s mercies and wisdom, I can only echo Paul in Romans 11:36 (BSB): “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.”