God Grieves With You

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.”

Psalm 34:18 (NCV)

When you grieve, you may feel like God is a million miles away.

However, what you feel and what’s real are not always the same thing. God isn’t a million miles away. In fact, he’s never been any closer.

Did you know that God grieves with you?

The Bible tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT).

When you come to Jesus with your grief, he knows what you’re talking about, and he understands your pain. God is sympathetic, he’s not aloof or apathetic. He’s not standing on the sidelines of your life watching in, he’s in the game and grieving with you.

God doesn’t only give you himself, he gives you a church family for support. You were meant to grieve in community. Healing comes in groups. Healing comes in the church. Healing comes in community. We’re better together!

On a practical level, what kind of grief support does a church family offer?

They can bring meals, help with childcare, stock your pantry, and run errands—to name a few. But above all, they can just sit with you—pray with you—and simply be present like Jesus, who is called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Martin Luther once wrote, “God is quick to catch the sigh of the heart.” Are you sighing heavily these days? God hears even the faintest cry. Let him comfort you. He longs to be near.