Grief & Glory

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” ( 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV).

Many I know anticipate the beginning of a new year as they wrap up the busy holiday season and welcome the slower pace that most describe January as. This is not the case for my current season of life. January rushes in a hectic calendar for my home, more so than December. Inevitably what follows the heavy schedule every January is my old friend, grief.

January 14th marked 9-years since my late husband was called home to Glory.

Sometimes I cannot believe it’s been nearly a decade. It doesn’t seem possible. But then I look at my young daughter who is inching closer to double-digits and the reality of time is breathtaking.

If you’re familiar with this part of my testimony, you know the Lord used this devastating season of my life to bring me closer to Him and for that I will forever be grateful. The Lord has been so gracious to allow me to remarry and be promoted to Bonus Mom as I have the privilege to help raise two more children. It is well with my soul. It has been and will always be through the preservation of the Lord. (2 Timothy 4:18)

But sometimes I still grieve. Deeply grieve over the loss of him, the life we had, the life that was supposed to be, the plans we made, the hopes we had, and the trauma of his death.

The grief is real, tangible, and comes to consume.

My mind can be engulfed in God’s Word, His truths that shines light on every darkness, but my body remembers the torment of grief and momentarily gives way to those patterns of aches and anxiousness. I wished I could shake it off easily and overcome the grief that knocks every now and then with a joyful smile.

But I am weak. And I must remind myself that weakness is not failure or regression. My God is in the weaknesses. I’ve learned there is no true timeline for grief. The grief changes. For the Believer, we grieve with hope, with the hope of a future glory.

As a Believer, we have the hope of Christ as our Savior, forever. This hope is unending. We can now face life with godly grit, grace, and gratitude that comes only from the power of the Holy Spirit.

I must remind myself of these truths often. The freedom, renewal, and literal life The Gospel expels for the Believer doesn’t grow stale. As God’s Word reveals continual life for us, our souls are nourished and developed. Our taste for God’s Word should elevate as time goes on, no matter our worldly circumstances. Our palate for God’s Truth should grow to be like fine dining for our souls, even when our souls may feel downcast. We should emulate the words of the weeping Prophet, Jeremiah, when it comes to devouring the Word of God as sustenance for life and Truth—even in the woes of deep grief as Jeremiah was, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts,” (Jeremiah 15:16 ESV).

We have been called by name by the Lord of hosts! The Lord spoke this to the prophet Isaiah too, “I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name,” (Isaiah 45:3 ESV).

Because the Lord calls us by name, we are His. Securely His. Forever. Drawn to repentance, given faith measured by Him, and kept for His glory. Through the sadness, anxiousness, despairs, fears, devastations, losses or griefs of life—we are a people who persevere in the list above with hope, with the hope of a future glory, because of Christ, for Christ, with Christ, and in Christ.

In the brunt of my grief seasons, an immature part of me wanted to follow some twelve-step program to overcome or “get over” my grief. This doesn’t exist. That’s honestly the beautiful part of it. Christ is exalted in the weight of the unknown and in the center of our weaknesses. I want to be like Paul and proclaim with boldness and godly confidence to the Lord’s promise of His grace being sufficient for us and His power being made perfect in our weakness—“…Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me,” (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV).

Sister, if you’re in a season of grief, I want to encourage you to surrender to the Lord and devote time to knowing Him more through His Word. I pray you become familiar with the promises of His wonderful preservation of our souls. I pray the joy of your salvation overcomes the darkness or consuming power of any grief. I pray the Lord keeps you close to Him and sovereignly shifts your perspective from what is momentary and earthly and focuses your heart and soul on the future glory that He has waiting for us.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV).

I Trust my God, I Trust my God, I Trust my God

Ardently His,

Jess

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