Sorrow & Hope

Tonight my grandparents called to wish me a happy birthday, but they also told me about one of their closest friends who was killed in a motorcycle accident over weekend. Even though I grieve for my grandparents and the precious wife who lost her husband so suddenly, I can't begin to imagine the depth of their pain and sorrow. Compounding the situation is the fact that my grandparents don't have the hope that Jesus offers.

When I'm grieving, scared, or overwhelmed, I find myself going to Jesus' words in John 16. He's talking to the disciples about his impending death and resurrection. At the very end of the chapter he declares to them, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." This declaration from Jesus never fails to calm my wild thoughts or comfort my hurting heart. Jesus knows my troubles and has overcome them; I need only to find rest in him. But where will my grandparents will find solace and rest for their aching hearts? The only answer to this question is Jesus, but it brings both sorrow and hope. Sorrow because there's not much evidence they'll turn to Jesus. And hope that God will use this trying time to bring them into a right relationship with him.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." 

Psalm 62:5-8