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GOD'S HOPE IN GRIEF BY REV. KRISTIAN KINCAID Grief is never easy, especially when you try to go through it alone and without support. Through God's Word and Spirit, He reminds you that you are never meant to experience grief by yourself. Facing grief can cause you to question your faith and God's good plan for your life. In his book Living with Grief: Bound by Sorrow, Wrapped in Comfort, Pastor Kincaid shares his journey of pressing deeper into his relationship with God and His Word every time grief struck in his life. Standing over the grave of a loved one is heart- breaking. We question the Lord and His love for us. "Why this, why now, why my loved one, Lord?" Such deep anguish and pain death brings. Our doubts loom large, and the Lord seems so small. When doubts and questions come, and come they will, we can remember that the Lord is always the answer, and never the problem. May our doubts and questions drive us to, and never away from, the Word of God. As we open His Word of truth we see His words of love, care, and compassion. Why does tragedy take place? We live in a sinful, fallen world. A better question to ask is "Who can I turn to in my sorrow?" The answer is Christ—always. Hold this truth close, "I know the plans I have for you . . . plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you" (Jeremiah 29:11–12). No need to pencil in a question mark after any of the Lord's promises. "I lift up my eyes unto the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1–2). The Lord who gave His back to the whip for you never turns His back on you. He who opened His arms on the cross for you never folds them in indifference toward you. God clearly tells us how to approach grief in Scripture. We grieve, but not as those who have no hope, for we have Christ and His love. Our lives will never be the same. The days are long, the nights longer. Hearts are heavy and sighs run deep. Knowing this, our Living Savior, in the richest compassion, bids us to cast all our burdens upon Him, for He loves us dearly and deeply. We do not grieve in hopelessness, nor do we weep alone—ever. We are weak; Christ is strong. We are not cured of grief this side of eternity. We are, however, comforted in our grief with the love of Jesus Christ, who gently wipes away our every tear. We start with the truth of His love, and we stay with that truth, for He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love," (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus loves you all the way to the cross and the empty tomb. Christ is our comfort at all times, in all circumstances. 8 Lutheran Life

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