Our Daily Bread Military EditionНамуна

God Weeps With Us

What is the meaning of Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”? God certainly doesn’t value or find enjoyment in the death of His children! If He did, why would the psalmist praise God for delivering him from death? And why did Jesus groan and weep as He saw the grief at Lazarus’ tomb? (John 11:33-35). I agree with scholars who render Psalm 116:15, “Costly in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

In this world, unless you are a celebrity, your passing will soon be forgotten by all but a small circle of relatives and friends. But Jesus showed us that God shares the sorrow and pain of the bereaved, and that the death of the humblest believer causes His heart great pain.

This thought came to me recently at the funeral of my brother Tunis. His family and his pastor extolled his compassion, kindness, and generosity. Afterward, people who knew him as a businessman spoke well of him. Though his name was just one of many in the newspaper obituaries, his death was a matter of great loss to us who knew and loved him. And it is comforting to know that God did not take his passing without feeling our pain. In fact, I believe He wept with us. —Herb Vander Lugt

When we are happy or when we are blue,
God is aware of whatever we do;
All of our sorrows He takes as His own—
And He will never leave us alone. —Hess

God shares in our sorrow.