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Finding Hope in the Shadows of Loss
The calendar tells us it’s a time for "new beginnings" and "leaving the past behind." But for many of us, January isn’t a clean slate—it’s an anniversary. It’s a reminder of a room, a hospital bed, or a chair that now sits empty.
In my latest message, I share the personal story of losing my mother—my best friend and hero—during the holiday season of 2018. If you are entering this year carrying a weight that feels too heavy to lift, I want you to know: You are not healing "wrong," and you are certainly not alone.
Watch the Full Message: Remembering Without Being Destroyed https://youtu.be/GAjK1Trwics
Here is a deeper look at the principles we explored regarding grief, faith, and the Savior who weeps with us.
1. Honesty is Not the Enemy of Faith
We often feel pressured to put on a "spiritual mask." We think that if we have enough faith, we shouldn't feel the sting of the past. But Psalm 77 shows us a different way. The Psalmist cries out, "I refused to be comforted." He even admits that thinking of God makes him groan.
This is a vital truth: Scripture does not practice "spiritual bypassing." * Faith does not begin with pretending you are okay.
Faith begins with the truth of where you actually are.
God gave us the Psalms of lament because He wanted to give our pain a holy vocabulary.
2. Jesus is Not Rebuking Your Tears
In John 11, we see the shortest and perhaps most profound verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept." He knew He was about to perform a miracle. He knew Lazarus would be walking out of that tomb in minutes. Yet, He still stopped to cry. Why? Because love always feels the loss. Jesus doesn’t see your grief as an obstacle to get over; He sees it as a place He must step into. If the Son of God wept at a grave, your tears are not a sign of unbelief—they are a testimony of your love.
3. The Danger of Remembering Alone
There is a massive difference between remembering from inside your grief and remembering in the presence of God. In Psalm 77, the shift happens when the writer says, "I will remember the Lord’s works." The pain didn't vanish, but the direction of the memory changed. As 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 reminds us, we can be "perplexed but not in despair." We carry both life and death at the same time. The goal isn't to "let go" of the person you love; it’s to stop carrying the weight of that love in your own strength.
4. Moving Forward is Not the Same as "Being Strong"
For many, moving forward doesn't feel like a victory lap; it feels like survival. It feels like waking up tired and carrying love with nowhere to lay it.
If your faith right now looks less like "confidence" and more like "endurance," please hear this: That is still faith. Psalm 73:26 says, "My flesh and my heart may fail..."
Failure of heart and strength is expected.
But God is the portion, the daily bread, that sustains us when our own energy is gone.
A Final Thought for Your Journey
Jesus does not meet us on the "other side" of our pain and tell us to hurry up and catch up. He meets us in the pain. He walks at the pace of your grief. He doesn't rush the remembering, and He never shames the tears.
If all you can do today is wake up and hold on, you are doing enough. You are walking with a Savior who knows what it is to lose, what it is to bleed, and what it is to live again.
To hear the full story and dive deeper into these scriptures, click the link below to watch the full sermon.
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