RESOURCES FOR THE DAY OF BATTLE

I frequently direct your thoughts toward the Psalms in my blogs. It’s because it’s where I go myself when I’m personally struggling with the magnitude of pain that grief, from any kind of circumstance, can bring. The great Psalm writer, David, under God’s inspiration, provides hope in so many of his poems. That hope is based upon David’s unwavering trust in God, no matter what challenge God directed or permitted to enter David’s life. And, David certainly had his share of challenges!

Psalm 27:1 paves the way for us to consider God at work in our own lives, especially when hurt and pain strike at our very being: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?”

These three words stand out to me in that verse as encouragement when loss tears at our lives:

LIGHT: Light dispels darkness. Loss often presents itself as a thick cloud of emotional darkness that can capture and torment us. We can’t see in the dark. Then comes, anxiety, loneliness and fear because of an unknown future without the one, or the something, we lost. When LIGHT is introduced into darkness, we feel comforted, reassured and at peace. God gives us the Light of His Presence as we turn our pain over to Him.

SALVATION: Salvation restores. Salvation from the punishment of our sins restored our broken relationship with our Creator when we acknowledged Jesus as Savior. And that same Salvation restores our hope for life now and for the future beyond this life. Now, when our souls are sorrow-filled because of grief, God’s Presence provides salvation from the devastation that loss typically brings. God will restore us as we spend time with Him. Will we still feel the loss? Absolutely! However, the closeness of God prevails over the emptiness we feel, and that fortifies and restores us.

DEFENSE: Defense enables us to meet the enemy head on and conquer it. As we grieve, our Defender is there to ward off the emotional attacks that can come so readily, often out of nowhere! Looking to Him, we can find moments of victory in the battle that fortify and strengthen us for the next onslaught of pain.

Note, most importantly, three other words that precede the three we just observed:

THE LORD IS…

It is quite apparent that our God knows we cannot face loss and grief in our own strength. He provides the greatest resource in loss – Himself. The One Who, Alone, knows and truly feels your pain as no other can, even tho’ they may earnestly try. The Lord provides for you out of the abundance of Who He is.

His promises remain strong for you:

“For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
He will hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will lift me up on a rock.
And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me..”  Psalm 27:5-6a