He Grieves With Me

I lost my brother 3 weeks ago. It has been a very, very long 3 weeks. So. Many. Tears. I have experienced all of the natural emotions and questions that come with grief. I've experienced sadness, anger, shock, loss, comfort, what-ifs, happy memories, sad memories, confusion, hurt, etc. I have had an amazing support system and am truly blown away by the people who love me and care for me.  

But today my focus is sharing my greatest comfort thus far.  

Last night, one of my best friends, who lost her own sister far too young, said, "Death is the strangest thing. And the thing that I'm probably most comforted by is that it's not natural. I mean, it is NOW because we live in a fallen world, but it wasn't always supposed to be this way. Death is a result of the curse after the fall. (See Genesis in the Bible) God's original design was not for death. We weren't made to experience this pain. It was literally not supposed to be this way."

I thought on that last night before bed. I've never really heard it explained that way before. Then God brought to my mind the account in Scripture of the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. I read this account a couple of weeks ago, and at first something about it didn't settle right with me. Lazarus had died. John 11:33 says, "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled." Now that sounds kind of nice at first. I strongly believe Jesus had empathy for his friends. But the words "deeply moved and greatly troubled" actually indicate anger in the Greek.  Anger?? Why was Jesus angry when his friends lost their loved one? This bothered me, so I investigated further. I wanted to understand. Upon investigation, I learned that Jesus was angry at death! He was angry at Satan, the source of death and destruction! He was deeply moved by the brokenness of this world and how it was just not how He created it to be!  It was not supposed to be this way.

As I thought on these things last night, the Holy Spirit gave me the most wonderful comfort. He assured me that death was not His original plan, but He was not going to let Satan win! That's why He came! He loves me so much and wants me to have eternal life with Him so much, that He was willing to stoop to the level of humanity and suffer horrible, horrible things...including death...to make a WAY for me and every other person to spend eternity in heaven with Him AND our loved ones who have accepted Him. I wept over Jesus' love for me! Oh, how much He loves you and me. It's real. And more than my mind can even comprehend. Death was not His plan. Furthermore, He grieves with me. And it angers Him and deeply disturbs Him that we have to experience it at all.  

God tells us to comfort those with the comfort that we have received from Him. God brought a measure of healing to my heart last night that I desperately needed. I really needed to hear that from the Lord. And in case, it's not for me only, I pass it along to you. God sees you; He hurts with you; He is FOR you.  If you don't know Him on a personal level, oh how I wish you would. You would never regret it. 

"As a mother comforts her child, so will God comfort you." Isaiah 66:13