Grief From Loss- A 7- Day DevotionalSample

I once heard a powerful eulogy by Dr. E.V. Hill. He was standing over his precious wife’s casket, and though his heart was sorrowful, he proclaimed, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” This sermon forever changed my outlook on death. You see, Job had it right. It is the same God who gives life who takes it. He doesn’t take it in the sense of snatching it back, but He is intentional, both in our birthdate and death date. 

The Bible says in Job 14:5 NLT, “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” This truth struck me to the core. It helped me work through the mental battle I was experiencing. I remember days I could not stomach the thought of reading the information on SIDS. In my mind, SIDS had come into my house while my family slept and took my sweet Bailey. No, that was not true. SIDS was just a natural name put on a supernatural act of God (the taking away). Though her death was deemed unexplained, I knew that it was ultimately God’s timing. 

You and I may never understand why God chooses to take someone when He does, but we ought to take great comfort in the fact that we can trust Him even when it hurts to the core and makes no sense. As days go by and your new reality sets in, you must be reminded that God is still good. The same God who blessed you with pregnancy is the same God who allowed the tragedy to come to your house. 

Blessings and tragedy seem to be contrary to one another, but they actually work in unison. You see death should remind you of the brevity of life and how every day should be lived out on purpose. God is fully aware of the emptiness our hearts feel, but He is also aware that our emptiness will drive us to our knees to seek to know the master of life and death. In return, you don’t get your child back but the fulfillment that you will see him or her again. Even though you are walking through a valley that feels like the shadow of death, The Lord’s rod and staff are there to comfort you. There is hope after loss. There is hope in God’s sovereign plan. 

Practical tip: Count your blessings. I know that you can’t help but focus on what is lost, but I encourage you to count the blessings that are still before you. If you are like me and have other children, thank God for them and love on them a little longer. If this was your first child, thank God for a second chance and the family that is still on earth. It’s hard to see God’s goodness in your grief, but He is the same God. It was the Lord who gave and has now taken away, and it is horrible right now. But as the years go on and the Lord heals your heart, you too will say the words both Job and E.V. Hill proclaimed with confidence “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”