Surviving Sorrow: Devotions for Parents in MourningSample

Are you feeling like you’ll never survive without your child? I did too. Burying your own child, looking at your future without your child, is too much to bear, isn’t it? Yes, it is. You’re probably questioning how a good and loving God could allow this much pain into your life. I wanted this answer too. Yet right now, no answers come. Only tears and unbearable pain. 

So how did I survive this sorrow of losing a child? I cried out to God. Honestly, it’s more accurate to say that I screamed and stomped, demanding that God respond to me in some way. I wanted to know that He really existed. My mind needed proof that He cared about me. I didn’t know God when we lost our son Austin, but I came to know Him in the dark, deep pit of grief. It was there that I was finally able to see Him and feel His love for me. 

Today, start by letting your emotions out. Direct your pain toward God, not away. Let Him hear the cries of your heart. Remember. . .responding to the cries of people on earth is one of His specialties. Throughout the Bible, we see a pattern of God responding to people who cry out to Him. Psalm 34:18 became my lifeline in surviving the sorrow of losing Austin: 

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18 NASB). 

It’s okay to ask God to fulfill these promises to you. It’s His very essence to keep His word. So go ahead and cry out (or shout and stomp, like me). Something like this:

 “God, You said You would be near to the brokenhearted and my heart is shattered into tiny bits. Where are You? Let me feel that You are near me; make Yourself tangible to me, please. Lord, You promised to save those who are crushed in spirit, and I am completely crushed right now. Rescue me from this pain, save me from being crushed under the weight of this grief. Help me, God!” 

For another example of how to cry out to God in your darkest hour, read Psalm 18 and hear how God responded to the cry of David’s heart. When you read Psalm 18, consider this grief your enemy and hear how the Lord will deliver you.