HOW CAN I HANDLE THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE?
It is natural and necessary to grieve the loss of a loved one. BUT it is also necessary to know the source of comfort in that loss. The apostle Paul stated in 2 Cor. 1:3 (HCSB) as follows: "Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." Others can help console us and comfort us; but if we do not have Almighty God as the foundational source of our comfort, we will never receive complete and healing comfort. God folds us in His arms, loves us and consoles us as no earthly being can. God fully understands what it is to lose a loved one, as He lost His only Son in death on a cruel cross. In His almighty power, He raised Jesus up from the dead and, therefore, conquered death forever. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, God sent us His Holy Spirit to console and comfort us always. One of the Holy Spirit's names is, "The Comforter." If we and our loved ones accept God's only Son as our Savior, we shall one day dwell with Him and Jesus and each other forever, never to be separated again.
Q:
Why does God let us go through hard times?
In Job 1:1, we find Job: "In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil...........He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." He was the Warren Buffett of that time. He was very rich and probably held a position of importance. Job feared God and honored Him. These verses are fascinating to me. Job 1:6- One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. God then goes on to praise Job saying, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Satan counters that by saying that Job praises God because God has blessed him and that God has protected Job his entire life. God allows Satan to test Job but he can't touch Job physically. Satan persecutes Job by: killing Job's sons and daughters by collapsing a building, sending thieves to steal all of his donkey and oxen, killing his servants in the field, and the burning his sheep. In all of this, Job did not turn away from God. Job 1:20- "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." After this, Satan again presented himself to God. After God finishes commending Job, Satan says: “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” God allows Satan to touch Job as long as he doesn't kill him. Very soon, Job develops painful soars from the "crown of his head to the soles of his feet". Job then takes a piece of pottery and scrapes himself with it because his suffering was so great. His wife comes to him and says,“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" "In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." Three of his friends come and mourn with him for 7 days and 7 nights. Job then continues to curse the day he was born. This man was at the end of his rope, yet he still didn't turn away from God. His friends give him bad advice to curse God and to turn away. However, Job remains steadfast and firm in his faith. Finally, Satan gives up and God rewards Job. Job is given DOUBLE of what he had and he has 7 sons and 3 daughters born unto him. The Bible says that there weren't any women better looking than Job's daughters. In total, Job has: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen (equaling 2000), and 1000 donkeys. Job went through this hard time because God was testing him. Job remained fixed on the Lord and God rewarded him greatly for his obedience. Read the story starting in Job 1.
There are many reasons why God allows suffering, not the least of which is because it is the natural consequence of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Also, as God says, man's imagination is evil from his youth, and he inflicts harm and suffering on himself and others.
Then, sometimes, God allows us to go through hard times to bring us closer to Him. When we cannot control circumstances, many times we turn to our God, who can control them. We then gain a deeper relationship with Him and depend on Him more. In our suffering we praise and glorify Him.
It is natural and necessary to grieve the loss of a loved one. BUT it is also necessary to know the source of comfort in that loss. The apostle Paul stated in 2 Cor. 1:3 (HCSB) as follows: "Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort." Others can help console us and comfort us; but if we do not have Almighty God as the foundational source of our comfort, we will never receive complete and healing comfort. God folds us in His arms, loves us and consoles us as no earthly being can. God fully understands what it is to lose a loved one, as He lost His only Son in death on a cruel cross. In His almighty power, He raised Jesus up from the dead and, therefore, conquered death forever. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, God sent us His Holy Spirit to console and comfort us always. One of the Holy Spirit's names is, "The Comforter." If we and our loved ones accept God's only Son as our Savior, we shall one day dwell with Him and Jesus and each other forever, never to be separated again.
Q:
Why does God let us go through hard times?
In Job 1:1, we find Job: "In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil...........He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." He was the Warren Buffett of that time. He was very rich and probably held a position of importance. Job feared God and honored Him. These verses are fascinating to me. Job 1:6- One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. God then goes on to praise Job saying, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Satan counters that by saying that Job praises God because God has blessed him and that God has protected Job his entire life. God allows Satan to test Job but he can't touch Job physically. Satan persecutes Job by: killing Job's sons and daughters by collapsing a building, sending thieves to steal all of his donkey and oxen, killing his servants in the field, and the burning his sheep. In all of this, Job did not turn away from God. Job 1:20- "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." After this, Satan again presented himself to God. After God finishes commending Job, Satan says: “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” God allows Satan to touch Job as long as he doesn't kill him. Very soon, Job develops painful soars from the "crown of his head to the soles of his feet". Job then takes a piece of pottery and scrapes himself with it because his suffering was so great. His wife comes to him and says,“Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" "In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." Three of his friends come and mourn with him for 7 days and 7 nights. Job then continues to curse the day he was born. This man was at the end of his rope, yet he still didn't turn away from God. His friends give him bad advice to curse God and to turn away. However, Job remains steadfast and firm in his faith. Finally, Satan gives up and God rewards Job. Job is given DOUBLE of what he had and he has 7 sons and 3 daughters born unto him. The Bible says that there weren't any women better looking than Job's daughters. In total, Job has: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen (equaling 2000), and 1000 donkeys. Job went through this hard time because God was testing him. Job remained fixed on the Lord and God rewarded him greatly for his obedience. Read the story starting in Job 1.
There are many reasons why God allows suffering, not the least of which is because it is the natural consequence of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Also, as God says, man's imagination is evil from his youth, and he inflicts harm and suffering on himself and others.
Then, sometimes, God allows us to go through hard times to bring us closer to Him. When we cannot control circumstances, many times we turn to our God, who can control them. We then gain a deeper relationship with Him and depend on Him more. In our suffering we praise and glorify Him.