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Sudden/unexpected grief poses unique challenges.  There is a seesaw of emotions: the ups of hope and the downs of despair.

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Sudden-Unexpected Grief

 

Joseph’s Coat Brought to Jacob by Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari

Genesis 37:32-35  Then they rent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “we have found this.  Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him.  Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcoth on his waist, and mourned his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down to my grave to my son in mourning.  Thus his father wept for him.

Despicable acts

Joseph, the favored son of Jacob appears to be dead.  Appears to have been “devoured.” Oh, he was devoured:  by jealous brothers and lies to cover their deed. His “death” was totally unexpected because God had revealed Joseph’s future.  It made NO sense!!! His father is devastated.

Our small southern community knows this horror.  Vanished without a trace. Gone but not forgotten.  More questions than answers and Heaven is silent. Parents grasp at every tiny shred of evidence that may lead to the answers they seek.  Friends pray for “closure.” (I don’t know what that means! A life is not a closet that opens and closes and it is done.) A beautiful life disappears and not a peep is heard.  Belongings are identified. We fear the worst. The longer the time, the more the assumptions grow as does the grief. Yet, life goes on and we wonder what is God up too?

Big God, Big Plans

In the case of Joseph, God is up to BIG things.  The story is well known and a father finds the lost son.  Forgiveness is given and received. A father does not have to die in mourning.  Many are not so fortunate to have a “happily ever after ending.” For the MIA, POW, trafficked child, red light district woman who never comes back, the runaway, and other horrific scenarios played out in the lives of our friends and neighbors every day there is often not a happy ending but the knock on the door or phone call from the police saying the DNA of a victim has given witness that the life of a loved one has been snuffed out.  Is it possible God is still up to BIG things in the lives of these as well? If God is sovereign then the answer is YES and AMEN! What? Only time (in the case of Joseph, decades) will reveal.

Jacob Shown Joseph’s Bloody Coat  The Leiden Collection (painting)

Great Grief

Sudden/unexpected grief poses unique challenges.  There is a seesaw of emotions: the ups of hope and the downs of despair.  Just as Jacob was inconsolable, it is hard to comfort those we love. Words are inadequate and often add to the pain.  Entire nations rejoice at the news of the one found alive!!!! Then, jealousy creeps into the heart still grieving…………

I have a memory seared into my mind:   The morning dawned cold, crisp, and clear.  A police officer knocked on the front door of my childhood home and handed my mom a telegram.  It stated my Daddy had died. Cold piece of paper. A uniform. An UNEXPECTED declaration: SUDDENLY, a father is not coming home–EVER.  It had many repercussions. Grief escaped my lungs as a howl and crumpling into a heap in the office of the hospital lab where I worked.  Mamma had come to tell me. Has God done big things in the interim of then and now? Well, I haven’t saved a nation like Joseph, given forgiveness for despicable acts against me, or been used by God in such a way the whole world for eternity would know my name but I believe the LORD has used my grief to comfort others through the years. (II Cor 1:3-5)

God Sees, God Hears, God Remembers

God saw, heard, and remembered Jacob’s pain.  He was up to something far more important and He put everything and everyone in place to protect the nation that would give us JESUS!  The reunion we will have with our loved ones will be so sweet; we will forget the years of pain. When we see the sweet face of Jesus all our tears will be wiped away. (Revelation 21:4)   May we trust His plan to give us a hope and a future as promised! (Jeremiah 29:11) He really is close to the brokenhearted. (Psalm 34:18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxkH

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Every Tear by Matthew West  youtube

Please pray for the family of Rebekah Henderson Paulk.  She has been missing since Labor Day 2015