Grief and Sorrow for the Christian

A little over a year ago I heard a sermon on James 5: 7-12.
Some very hard things in life had just happened, and within a couple weeks of that this sermon was preached. God's sovereignty and perfect timing in meeting my needs was awesome!


James 5: 7 - 12
"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."


Here is a short section of that sermon that really spoke to me...

The promise of redemption began and redemption is simply that part of the story that says in the person of Christ God's going to clean up our mess. We made the mess, God didn't, but God is coming to clean it up in the person of Jesus. God came in the person of Jesus to clean up the mess that we made which is why we can say the miracles of Jesus were not the suspension of the natural order but the restoration of the natural order. They were a reminder of what once was prior to the fall and a preview of what will eventually be a universal reality once again, a world of peace and justice without death, and without disease, and without conflict, and that means, Christians, that to grieve as a Christian, listen, to grieve as a Christian is a down deep emotional statement of faith that one day things won't be this way. That's what grief is, grief is a down deep emotional acknowledgement that things weren't always this way. There's a sense of remembrance in our grief, whether we're conscious of it or not. Grief is an emotional response to the realization that things aren't right. When Christians grieve it's a down deep emotional statement of faith that one day things won't be this way. It's a down deep emotional statement of faith that our King is coming back and when he does he will fully and finally put this broken world back together again.


There is great comfort in this truth. God created a perfect world. Mankind messed it up and brought a curse upon it. But God is going to fix it. He sent Christ Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin, and through Christ's sacrifice will one day restore all to perfection once again.

The trials, sorrow, pain, suffering and grief of this life are only temporary. And our grief is good, in that we feel sad/sorrow/pain etc. because we know this is not the way it's supposed to be. And we have hope that someday soon all will be right again through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I hope you find hope and comfort in this as much as I did.