Grief

Ecclesiastes 3:4

New International Version (NIV)

3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance

My senior year in high school saw more tragedies than a school year should see. When the second student from my high school passed away that year, I was upset and angry and ended up asking myself the same question that so many people ask: "How could God let this happen?"

This question has been asked in many various ways and answered accordingly by many different people, but I think it's my turn to tackle the question. I would like to begin by pointing out that most people who ask this question, in my opinion, aren't actually looking for an answer. In fact, we often reject any answers that are given to us because we don't actually want to hear it. We just want to express our unhappiness with life, and questioning God's behavior seems like a natural way to do it. If God is good, then why is he letting bad in the world? Why is the world so broken? I hope I don't get too much negative feedback for saying this, but this reaction we sometimes have, I believe, is completely okay.

I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to go read the book of Job, or maybe just Psalm 22. In this psalm, David cries, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" This is coming from someone that God considers "a man after His own heart!" When Jesus himself was fulfilling the prophesy of Psalm 22, he quoted this same question as he dangled from the cross. Neither David nor Jesus were actually forsaken, which is made evident by the end of Psalm 22 and by Jesus' constant remarks that he is not alone (John 16:32), so why then would they ask God such a question? They're hurting. They're upset. It is their time to weep, and by golly, they are allowed to weep.

Nonetheless, there comes a time when the weeping must end, and we have to pick ourselves up from the ground. Then and only then can we begin to figure out why God lets bad things happen to us. Then and only then can we realize that our trials really can shape us. They can give us a strong bond with others with similar experiences, and more importantly, they can bring us closer to God.

Yet again, C.S. Lewis had something to say about this: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When we are hurting, God is RIGHT THERE with you, speaking to you, wanting to comfort you. Psalm 34:18 states, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

I don't believe that God wants us to hurt. He doesn't want us to have to experience the pains and sufferings of the world. When Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, opening a door for sorrows and struggles, I believe that God's heart broke. Even still, isn't it incredible that He gives us the opportunity to use these struggles for good? That even our hardships have a purpose?

If you'd like to dig deeper with this topic, I recommend watching the following video by the oh so controversial Rob Bell; it really does have a powerful message. Also, if there is a hurt in your life that you'd like prayer for, please visit the "Prayer Requests" page on this blog; I promise you will be in my prayers.

Therefore, weep when it is time to weep and mourn when it is time to mourn, but know that whatever time or season it may be, God is with you.

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