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Grief in Repeated Tragedy

It seems like tragedy comes in waves, and for a closeknit community, the grief from that tragedy touches many people. Grief brings with it a large host of responses ranging from shock, anger, confusion, denial, depression, guilt, search for meaning, etc.

With the tragedies that have struck our community regularly in the past several years, including the tragedy at AES that happened this past week, processing that grief can be difficult. So how do we as believers do that?

Take comfort in knowing that Jesus understands our heartache. This is the same Jesus who has borne our griefs and sorrows – the same Jesus who sympathizes with us in our weakness (Is. 53:3-4, Hb. 4:14-16). Jesus was no stranger to heartache, and he knows the depth of what we feel – even in our grief. And he hasn’t just walked through grief and sorrow just so he can say, “Been there, done that…” He has walked through grief and sorrow in order that he himself can walk with us through it, knowing that our Creator has felt what we are feeling and has grieved as we are grieving.

Be confident of God’s Sovereignty and Presence in repeated tragedy. God has not lost control nor has he forgotten his people. He has promised to never leave or forsake us even in the midst of feeling the effects of living in a fallen, broken world (Hb. 13:5). In Hebrews 13, we find encouragement not to put our trust in other things, but in Christ alone because he has promised to be with believers until the end (Matt. 28:20). Take heart, believer, that he has not left us or our community as we walk through repeated tragedy.

Understand that we were not meant to bear burdens alone. Christ made us to live in community. As one who is grieving over the state of repeated tragedy, you are meant to be held and loved – not only by God himself – but by a community of believers who mourn with you as you mourn, dedicate themselves to pray with you and for you, and walk with you down that road through the journey of sorrow (Gal. 6:2, Rom. 12:15, 1 Thess. 5:11). And for those believers who may not be directly grieving over loss, you are called to come alongside the grieving brother/sister. You are called to love, mourn, provide, and encourage – all in the encouragement that we find in the Gospel of Jesus!

Remember that there is hope beyond the grief. Heavy grief has a way of clouding our hope. I heard it said in our GriefShare program that grief can be like a very cloudy day. Sometimes, the sadness is so thick and heavy in our lives, that we cannot see the sun beyond the clouds. But just because the sky is cloudy does not mean that the sun has ceased to exist. Likewise, there is hope beyond the grief for followers of Christ. Christ has overcome the pains of this world; he will overcome the final enemy – death; he will wipe every tear away from our eyes (Rev. 21:4, John 16:33, Ps. 30:5). There is hope also that through grief, God continues to do a sanctifying work within us – causing us to grow and persevere (James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 5:10, Is. 61:3). This is a hope that disciples of Jesus can have – and he offers it to those who will hear his voice and respond to him in faith.