The Comforter in our Time of Sorrow

One of the hardest aspects of grief that I have been forced to endure is the loneliness that washes over me from the unnecessary death of my youngest son Stephen. And if you have lost a loved one, you too have experienced the seemingly unending tidal waves of grief and despair that rises from the depths inside you as your mind is consumed with thoughts of that person and how much you miss them and even agonize afresh at the loss you bear in your heart. At times, the ensuing loneliness can be all consuming and rip to the very core of your existence to the extent that you believe that you cannot endure one more moment. You pine for one last glimpse of that loved one, or one last touch, or one last embrace but knowing that will never come again, you feel completely and utterly broken and defeated. You may shed oceans of tears once again as you continue to process the raw emotions once more that you thought were over, but here they are again.

All of us have been through this, infinitely more times than we would like as we continue the healing process that comes from the unexpected loss of a loved one. Just when we think we have turned the corner of our grief approaching normalcy and then it pounces once again out of the darkness that invades our spirit and fills our hearts. Dear reader, know that I understand and I grieve with you in these times of hurt and pain.

But for you and me as believers on Christ Jesus, we do have hope and an ever present help and comfort. In the midst of the darkness, God gives light to us to help us navigate through the hurt and pain. In the gospel of Mark 16:14, Jesus tells us “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”. You see, Jesus Christ himself tells us that God in His infinite love and mercy provided us with the means and the way for us to endure these terrible moments of emptiness and loneliness. After Jesus ascended into Heaven to sit along side the Father, He sent His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to provide for us and give us strength to go on. When the Holy Spirit comes into us, His Spirit enables us to take all the bereavement, hurt, sorrow and pain that we will be faced with in this life. The work of the Spirit of God is to heal our broken hearts, and to take our souls and bring them into communion with God the Father and bring the “peace that passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) for those of us in Jesus Christ.

Many times in this last year I have wept and gone to my knees in prayer when the hurt has exceeded my capability and have prayed, Dear Lord, I can’t stand this anymore! This is absolutely more than I can bear! The pain is too heavy for me and the sorrow is too much! Then God’s Holy Spirit reaches down to me and brings back to my memory Psalm 55:22 where His Word says, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” God wants us to lean upon Him when we can no longer deal with the pain of life and give our hurt and sorrow to Him to bear for us. The Comforter heals our hearts when we cast our sorrows upon Him.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to be the cure for our broken hearts. We can let the Holy Spirit occupy the void of our lonely and aching hearts that comes from the loss of our loved ones. The aching in our hearts can only be satisfactorily replaced by the presence of God Himself, when the Holy Ghost fills us with the Spirit of God and makes Jesus Christ real to us.

Please look to the source of comfort and grief. Embrace God’s Holy Spirit and let Him fill your heart. Let Him fill all the empty places of your heart and soul’s deepest and darkest recesses. Find the healing peace and comfort from God’s Comforter.