During this time, we hear a lot of “stay strong”, “have faith”, “this too shall pass.” And these are all important words of encouragement to share. We should absolutely be strong, have faith and yes, this too shall pass. But when I received an email titled “It’s time to grieve a little, and this is how…” this morning, it woke me up the reality that we need to take this time to grieve and lament as well.⁠
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The first quarter of 2020 is just ending, and I think we can all agree that our worldly foundations have been rocked and shaken in so many ways. We are all suffering a loss of some kind. In addition to the incredible loss of life worldwide in such as short amount of time, people are suffering the loss of security and everyone has lost their “normal”.⁠
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I don’t think I’ve really taken the time to let the heartache of all this grip me. This is not a call to throw a pity party or dwell in our misery, but to encourage us to acknowledge and even appreciate the pain we feel and let the tears of our heartache flow. Then ask God, “What should I do with this pain, Lord? How do you want to me to use this pain?” ⁠
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“What should I do with this pain, Lord? How do you want to me to use this pain?” ⁠

While we trust and are grateful that God promises to work all things for the good of those who love Him, remember that there are people who are suffering with pain and loss who don’t have this relationship with God. Let your heart break for those who have lost and are lost. And pray for God to use us to share about what an indescribable difference it makes to know and trust our loving Creator in the midst of pain. Pray that the lost will experience Him personally. God wants to wake them up and be their source of comfort and security too.⁠