Serving in the Midst of Sorrow

Verse of the day: Matthew 14:14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

As God’s children we are certainly not exempt from experiencing moments of sorrow. As a matter of fact, to think that we will escape painful times simply because we are saved is to set ourselves up for a hard and painful fall. The reality of pain and sorrow is that God does not always allow us to escape it, but Jesus does walk us through it; and stays with us throughout (Heb 13:5-6). There is nothing we will go through in this life that our Lord cannot relate to in respect to how we feel when we are going through it (Heb 4:14-16). Jesus once again set the example for us in how we can deal with the sorrow associated with a painful loss. John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod, and the news of this has reached Jesus. The Scripture tells us that Jesus went out to a deserted place to be alone (v. 13), as He always met with His Father in solitude. There is nothing wrong with seeking those moments of solitude when we go to the Lord, bringing our sorrows and cares to Him (1 Pt 5:7; Phil 4:6-7). This is where I would caution each of us because it is too easy to be so caught up in our sorrow that we refuse to bring it to the Lord, and we allow the pain and sorrow of our circumstances to trap us and lead us down the road to serious depression. Although God created us with emotions, He did not intend for those emotions to control us, but to be a “pressure relief valve” so that we do not implode. We see from the Lord’s example that even though He was mourning the loss of His cousin, He did not let that sorrow dictate what He would do when the opportunity to serve others presented itself. There will be those moments in our lives, when in the midst of our own sorrows, God presents someone before us who also needs comforting for what may seem small compared to what we are going through or even of the same magnitude. How do we respond? Jesus had compassion on those that He saw, because He saw the hopelessness in their lives. He saw them as sheep without a Shepherd (Mt 9:36). Those that followed Him to the place of His solitude brought the sick with them to be healed. Jesus could have chosen to withdraw and deal with His sorrow, but instead chose to minister to those around Him that He saw were hurting and in need. I have found that the best medicine for sorrow is to minister to the needs of someone else, as God puts them into my life; and it is usually at a time when I have the least desire to do so. However, every time I have given in to God’s leading, my sorrow was turned into blessings. What we will find is that our sorrow will not only turn into blessings in both our lives and the lives of those we serve, but it also becomes our strength, as we learn to trust God more and more in the midst of troubling times. The Word of God tells us that we are to comfort others with the same comfort we receive (2 Cor 1:3-7); and sometimes God presents that opportunity at the same time He is comforting us. The other side of this coin is that there are times when God allows pain and sorrow in order to present us with an opportunity to lead someone to Him (Phil 1:12). The person that God may put before us may also be suffering, but what their primary need may be is Jesus. This is where, when we deal with our sorrows, trusting God and standing in His peace and joy, that we have great opportunities to tell others about the comfort we are experiencing because of our relationship with Jesus, and be able to emphasize their need for Him. I say all this knowing that God also knows our frame (Ps 103:13-14), and will present those opportunities at the perfect time; as His timing is always perfect. The bottom line is that we are not to allow our pain and sorrows to blind us to the needs of those that God puts before us during those times. Just as Jesus did not shy away from blessing others in the midst of His sorrow, we too must be ready to serve while trusting that God can carry us through our times of emotional pain.

Our Heavenly Father knows that we live in a fallen world, and that bad things happen. His desire is that we not go through those times alone. He has given us His Son so that we would not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). He extends an invitation to you today. Will you accept it? Anyone who comes to Him in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 6:23; 10:13).