Hope in Grief

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I've entitled today's reading, Hope in Grief.

My name's Bill Crowder. As the cabbie drove us to London's Heathrow Airport, he told us his story. He had come alone to the United Kingdom at age 15, seeking to escape war and deprivation. Now, 11 years later, he has a family of his own and is able to provide for them in ways unavailable in his native land. But he laments that he's still separated from his parents and his siblings. He told us that he's had a hard journey that won't be complete until he's reunited with his family. Being separated from our loved ones in this life is hard, but losing a loved one in death is much harder and creates a sense of loss that won't be made right until we're reunited with them. When the new believers at Thessalonica wondered about such losses, Paul wrote, Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. He explained that as believers in Jesus, we can live in expectation of a wonderful reunion together forever in the presence of Christ.

Few experiences mark us as deeply as the separations we endure. But in Jesus, we have hope of being reunited. And in the midst of grief and loss, we can find the comfort we need in that enduring promise.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord's Word, we tell you that we who are still alive who are left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words. Let's pray. Father, there's nothing on earth that can fill the places in our heart made empty through loss. Draw us to you and comfort us with your love and grace as we anticipate a future reunion together with you and with those we love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.