Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. (Psalm 31:9-11 NIV) Is this your experience in your grief? Eyes, body, soul. Anguish, groaning, affliction. These are words you might use to describe your body, your anguish. And these are the words from God’s word that David uses to describe his situation. I believe David, the human, was writing under God’s inspiration to express God’s thoughts. This is God’s Word. He describes affliction like we would describe grief. It shows me He gets this human experience. God understands your grief. But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. (Psalm 31:14-16 NIV) In the psalm, David deliberately turns his attention to the Lord. Where is the Lord while David is so distressed? David declares his faith and asks that God in love would save him, fully expecting it to be so. In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, (Psalm 31:22-23 NIV) And by the end of this psalm David knows his cries, his prayers have been heard and that the Lord is acting in love. The Lord preserves. I am praying for you that your experience of grief, which probably includes groaning and anguish, will also include the preservation that His love can bring. The God of the universe, knows your sorrow and cares about working in your life to preserve, to heal your broken heart. He cares.
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Judy is the Director of H*VMI's BASIS ministry. She says, "I have been working in the arena of loss and grief for over 30 years, with parents who have lost a child. My most important teachers have been the parents with whom I have been privileged to work in BASIS, a Christian ministry for bereaved parents. I have certainly taken courses, certificates and seminars. I have even taught a few. But, truthfully, the most important lessons have been in listening to parents, then taking their hurts and concerns to the throne of grace in prayer and listening to the still small voice of God through His Word and His people. I am not a bereaved parent, thankfully. And yet, I have observed and learned some things that are the truth about grief and about where true comfort comes from. I want to share some of these truths with you."
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