by David Brenneman
"He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." Isaiah 53:3.
"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalms 9:10.
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.
There's extremely few people, if any, that do not experience grief or sorrow at the loss of someone or something such as even a pet. Grief is a reminder of the ravages of the penalty for sin.
While many have taken to various ways to explain it away...death only exists because of the original sin of Adam and Eve. The first animals that died to make the clothes they were to wear. Then, in time, Adam and Eve saw death personally. I know not who saw who die first but I doubt they were prepared for it.
It's a consequence of sin. Many in the world today hate the very idea of consequences to their actions.
Many, truthfully, get lied to at funerals in order to make themselves or others feel better about the deceased. Talk of being in a better place. My Dear Reader, if anyone dies without Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior...Heaven will never be their home.
Grief is a crushing blow to life because within it lies the truth of God. In a moment we have to face the very thing that oh so many people don't care to. It's found in a passage. Let God be found true and every man a liar. Romans 3 verse 4.
Pains of the heart are evidence as well of something the heart was never meant to experience.
But the pains are real. I have lived through many a death with family and friends as well as pets. It's a crushing blow to life in that moment. Mentally you often feel like you can't breathe. Everything else that was important in your life all the sudden isn't so important.
Jesus is who Isaiah was talking about. We only get a few examples of the times grief gripped Jesus. It's quite probable that Jesus saw the death of His Earthly Father. Saw the deaths of many.
The Father’s plan included everything that Jesus experienced.
He knows what each of us is or has gone through emotionally and mentally because of an event causing grief and suffering in our lives. He gets it. He truly understands it. Life wasn't to be this way.
I am a Believer. I trust in Christ Jesus my Savior and Lord. My faith is in Him and what He did on the cross of calvary to save me. It doesn't mean that I was ever going to be impervious to grief. Because of my salvation in Jesus I know that 1 heartbeat after I die I will be with Him forever.
Without salvation in Jesus there's absolutely no hope of that. None.
Do pets go to Heaven? There are indeed animals in Heaven and of the numerous personalities that I have experienced with our 'kids' that I do believe that all of ours that have died are waiting for us.
Never for a moment, no matter how painful, are Believer's ever forsaken of God. As it's aptly put in the poem "Footprints" there's many many times where Jesus has had to carry us because the journey has been too much for us.
The promise of the Spirit of God is also that He's our Comforter. Adam and Eve were the first to discover the Comforter.
It's probably not what you expected to read today but it IS as much a part of being a Christ-follower as the rest of the Scriptures.
There's no time limit on grieving but we shouldn't let it define who we are. People should still see the other attributes of Christ in us and not solely this one. Life still goes on. The plan of God for you and I in Christ still needs to be completed.
For as many days as is necessary...bring your heart to Jesus in prayer. He IS the healer.
He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what we even try to hide from ourselves.
In our grief resides hope...because of Jesus that is only found in a life in Christ Jesus. If Jesus isn't your personal Lord and Savior...the grief and sorrow can be bottomless. Truthfully there's billions of people in Hell that were good people. Were those who did good deeds throughout their lives. But they refused to come to Christ for salvation.
If you are in a season of grieving...turn to Jesus. Be sure of your salvation in Christ and cling to Him and His promises. If you aren't saved or aren't sure...now is the time. You don't have to go it alone.
There's many resources online to come to Christ for salvation. You can even text "Jesus" to the phone number of the Church we attend and they'll help you settle that question. +1 330-264-9459.
My prayers include all who might find this blog. Jesus awaits with open arms...for you.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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