Refusing to be comforted
One of the first scriptures that came to my mind as I mourned in shock at the tragedy that had just struck my home. It was the words I texted to a few very dear close friends because I had no idea even how to begin to tell them what had happened.....
Jeremiah 31:15 This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Refusing to be comforted. So many times, the question is asked, “Is there anything I can do?” And almost every time I want to ask, “Can you bring him back?” Sometimes I mumble it, most times I don’t. Is there really anything anyone can do in a time like this?
Of course, so many people have been so helpful, and the prayers of the saints have held us up as if we are kept afloat on a spiritual life raft from drowning in overwhelming sorrow. Amazingly people look at us as if we are the strong ones, I know where the strength comes from, it comes from God, it comes from our faith, but it is most definitely fueled by the prayers of those who love us. This strength this faith is not a sole independent endeavor on my part or the part of my family. It is a direct result of the love expressed in those who cry out to God on our behalf.
If you have ever doubted the power of your prayers let me, tell you now, I am very much aware of the power of each cry that goes out to God on our behalf in this time. And I personally beseech you, as it says in Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without Ceasing.”
But even as I texted Jeremiah 31:15 to my friend, one texted me back the next verses
Jeremiah 31:16-17 This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So, there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.
I am sure the overly religious would criticize me for my personal stretch in my interpretation of this scripture for myself at this time. I know the historical context. But for me the land of the enemy is the depression my son was in, and He is now out of that land and out of that darkness, he is at peace with total joy in the presence of my God and my Savior…..
There is hope for my son. My son will return to his own land…. I know he will not return to me, (2 Samuel 12:23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him[eventually], but he will not return to me.”) but this world is not my home any more than it was Nate’s home. As Christians we identify as travelers through this world on our way to our final destination, a Kingdom without end. Some people call it Heaven, some call it the Kingdom of God, some call it paradise. That is where our citizenship lies. That is where Nate is now.
What am I trying to say?! Exactly what God’s word tells me…. Even in the darkest sorrow there is hope, even though I may refuse to be comforted for a moment still God’s word comforts me.
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