Grief’s Unexpected Journey: 15 Comforting Devotions After Losing Someone You LoveSample

God’s Pace

If you’re familiar with school drop-off and pick-up lines or restaurant drive-throughs, you’ve probably happened upon a few speed bumps in your time. They’re usually just little annoyances we quickly get used to, but on the off chance that someone is driving along at a dangerous speed, they definitely serve a purpose. We’re so used to instant gratification—getting from point A to B smoothly, clicking on this app and being taken to that site, ordering what we need and having it delivered— that we’re often caught off guard when it’s time to slow down.

Waiting isn’t something many of us would call “enjoyable,” and there are certainly plenty of other things we can think of that we’d like to be doing instead. Yet there are times in our lives when God is clearly leading us to slow down and wait, and just like when we encounter a speed bump, it’s not something we would choose to do on our own. This can happen as we’re walking through times of grief, wondering when in the world we’re going to feel that sense of hope and joy that we long for. It can seem so far away that we may have even forgotten how it felt. These are the times when our loving Father takes us by the hand and, for whatever reason, whispers, “Wait”. Instead of becoming anxious, fearing we’ll never feel those good things again, we can choose to bring our sadness and discouragement to Him, trusting that He will handle us with care. We can know that He is already working behind the scenes in our hearts to bring about our healing and restoration. We can find encouragement in His Word while we wait Even if we don’t feel like jumping up in praise, we can speak the promises we read in Scripture and allow them to lift our hearts quietly. And we can reflect on His loving words of assurance: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13 NIV). God knows this is a journey, and there is no rush to feel a certain way. The more we reflect on His truth, the lighter our spirits will become.

Lord, help me to trust Your timing. I bring my whole heart to You, believing that You are working in me, one day at a time.