As I left the hospital with yet another heartbreaking goodbye of a dear friend, I headed to hospice to be with a family gathering to say their goodbyes. It has been a month of many goodbyes, and too many losses. At times it is hard to catch my breath as I try to wrap my head around them all. Last night, another call. The unexpected loss of a child. The pain was palpable and I ran to my prayer closet to just sit and pray for these families, and wipe many tears. No words could come out, just tears and cries from deep in my soul. “Jesus help!” I knew He was there.
Those who know me well know my favorite author is Ann Voskamp. I don’t think it was a coincidence that her devotion this morning was my reading for the day. Someone who is feeling a heavy loneliness, and the palpable pain of grief needs to hear these words. They encouraged me as I read them over and over.
“Though you think no one is praying with you, the Ultimate One is praying for you. The One who breathes stars breathes prayers for
you, the One whose words spoke the world into being uses priceless words over your being, the One who made time, lives beyond time, controls all of time, uses all of His time to pray for you, because you are priceless to Him.
Jesus is praying that you’ll be set apart from what threatens to take part of your heart.
Jesus is praying that you’ll be brave when you’re about to break, that you’ll turn from what’s tempting, that you’ll stand against what’s strangling, that you’ll escape into Him instead of trying to escape in a thousand unfulfilling ways.
Hard times don’t need to understand what God’s doing — like they need to know God’s standing with us, that He’s kneeling in prayer for us at all times. Nothing makes you more fiercely brave than knowing Jesus is fiercely praying for you.
Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit”
“Grief exists where love lived first”