The Pothole of Unexpected Loss and Sorrow...

The First Big Bump!

I am confident that when I mention this first pothole...the pothole of unexpected loss and sorrow...I am not catching anyone off guard with the news that life can bring you sorrow. In fact, in the third chapter of Genesis, we see sorrow and pain enter the world due to the sin of Adam and Eve when God says to the woman, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children."  And thus, pain and sorrow took on dimension in the lives of us all...until that time that we return to dust.

But what is sorrow and how should the pain of unexpected loss effect us and our lives? The Bible teaches us that sorrow is the uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of any good; or it is the frustrated hopes of good, or expected loss of happiness that leads one to grieve or be sad; however, I am not speaking here of the sorrow that comes due to the natural ebb and flow of life. If you have ever lost a parent or grandparent to death in their ripe old age of late seventies, eighties or nineties, you indeed will experience the sorrow of loss of a loved one... one who meant so much to you as a cherished member of your family; however, due to their age and possible physical health at the time of their passing, you probably were expecting them to pass, maybe even hoping for such so they would no longer suffer in their degenerative state. And because of our sinful world order, you will be sorrowful, sad and grieve them and the loss that you have incurred with them gone...but even in those moments, life tells you to press on for at some time, you too will stand at heaven's door and be ushered into eternity.

But how do we deal with that unexpected loss when someone you love is quickly snatched from life...a child that is lost to cancer or a defective heart at a tender age; a teenage son or daughter killed in a senseless car wreck by a drunk driver; a mother of 3 children who dies of breast cancer at age 34; a son killed on the battlefield at age 22...and the list could go on and on. For we all have been devastated when someone we know, someone close to us, is ripped from the fabric of our lives, leaving behind a tattered soul that cannot move beyond the tragedy. That loss which creates such a  BIG, EMPTY HOLE often brings such pain and sorrow that we blame God and turn our back on the one we need the most to see us through such pain.

For Jesus himself was not immune to such unexpected loss...for when he came to the town of Bethany, the home of his good friend Lazarus, Mary came out to meet Jesus and took him to the grave of her brother. Scripture says, "Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, his spirit groaned within him and he was troubled." John 11:33 And in verse 35 of this same chapter we see the humanity of Jesus..."Jesus wept." John 11:35

Jesus had to deal with the great pain and the unexpected loss of his good friend and he did as we all would do...He cried, releasing the pain and sorrow that dwelt inside. But more than that, He knew that God wanted more to be experienced in this situation than the loss of a loved one. God wanted all to know His power and the power given to the Son ...and in knowing this, we might come to the belief that God's power can overcome any loss and is far greater than any pain that might beset us... 

(End of part One)

See you tomorrow for the conclusion of 

The Pothole of Unexpected Loss & Pain