His Presence in Their Absence

When our minds are full of questions and our hearts are wounded and it seems that hope has been lost, we can turn to the Lord, who gives us His Holy Spirit, described by Jesus in John 14:26 as our Helper, or as it's also been translated, "Comforter." 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 says:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Our hearts may be weighed down by the pain of grief or loss, or we may have experienced woundedness of various sorts, but we can continue to hope in the Lord.  He desires to do a deep work in our hearts and give us a fresh realization of His presence. Throughout weaknesses, as Paul wrote, also in the book of 2nd Corinthians, we can be strong.  When it seems that the burdens of the day ahead may be too great to bear, Jesus is there to carry those burdens and gives us the assurance of His presence.

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In our struggles, when we experience disappointment or walk through the depths of grief, we can turn to the Lord, who walks with us. Psalm 34 states:
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Brooke and her husband were experiencing what she calls a "sweet season of life." They were enjoying having a new addition in their family - a son approaching his first birthday.  

According to her account at The Christian Heart website, she says, "I felt led to pray for my husband before I left for the day."  He had been experiencing stress at work, and she reached out to him via text. But, there was no response.  All day long.

She writes:

When I got home and he wasn’t there, but his car was, I knew something was going on and immediately called the police. After two days of searching and praying, there was a knock at the door. The officer said that they had found him, that he wouldn’t be coming home, and that it looked like suicide.

Brooke says that, "There was no inclination that suicide was on my husband’s mind...I’ve tried looking back to see what I had missed, but at some point, I had to decide to stop trying to figure it out. I’ve concluded that I will not ever fully understand suicide or mental health. I decided to turn my gaze to Jesus and the Word for truth."

The Lord met her there, she describes what she learned:

Life comes with trials and heartache but in our faith, we would lack nothing. God’s Word reminded me in my grief that I am being made more complete. Though I tragically lost my husband, I will lack nothing because of Jesus’ work in me.

Not too long after his death, she went on a retreat with other young moms who had lost their husbands. God stirred in her a desire to help other widows, and she launched the ministry called, Songs in the Night; she says that "we host retreats and offer discipleship relationships for widows." Its website notes: "We believe that with the support of a faithful community, the depths of grief can propel us into even deeper places with God. Tragedy is somehow a catalyst for rich transformation as disciples of Christ."

The ministry offers one-on-one and group discipleship, as well as a variety of resources.

I think it's important to recognize that the experience of loss can be intensified during the holiday season.  Memories of past joys with family members conflict with the realization of their absence. I think the Church has a real opportunity to reach out to those who are walking through grief and reach out with the love and companionship of our Savior.

We can also recognize that the realization of God's faithfulness can result in a deeper walk with Him. In our times of loss, grief, and disappointment, we can know that God meets us in those difficult places.  And, while we may not understand everything that has occurred, we can all have the assurance that He is walking with and in us.

These can be challenging times for so many people, and it is a time to become more sensitized to our own mental health and the struggles of others in that arena.  And, when we struggle, we can know that we have a Savior who loved us so much that He was willing to lay down His life in order that we might experience His love and have a changed heart.