Years back, on this same day, I said, "I still can't believe that I lost my father." It was what I told one of my school friends who called to comfort me. If you ask me, those words still feel fresh today. I still can't believe it, even now.
In the Bible, we have another person who believed a lie that someone was dead for a very long time. It was none other than Jacob. He mourned, put on sackcloth, and refused to be comforted. Jacob tore his clothes and wore sackcloth, a rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair. He refused to be comforted. Jacob said, "I will go to my grave, mourning for my son." He continued to mourn long past the customary week or month and insisted he would keep grieving until he died. Everything he went through is what a grieving person experiences. I have personally experienced this for at least four years. We, as families, go through very tough times.
But in Jacob's case, the truth was that he was crying, mourning, losing his joy, and neglecting his appearance. His way of worshiping God often wasn’t in its usual form because he believed a lie. Yet, Joseph was still alive on the other side, and God was with him.
Genesis 39:21 says, "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor."
I can deeply relate to this; I couldn’t sing when I was grieving the loss of my dad for years. I am sure heaven heard my singing very rarely during those years. I still can’t say it is completely restored. I almost felt like I lost the anointing and a heart that sings to God all the time, and it definitely did no good for me.
It is foolish to tell someone, "Don't cry, don't think of your loss; it's in the past." But one thing we can say is that we don’t need to be hopeless. We have hope that our loved ones are still living on the other side with God, whom we will meet one day. I don't know if any of you are going through a personal loss, but I encourage you not to let go of God's hand during this difficult time. We allow ourselves to enter into hopelessness by letting go of His hand. And do not give up on worshipping God. May God hear from you. The Bible says that Jacob's spirit was revived when he heard about Joseph:
"But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived" (Genesis 45:27).
Hey friend, God will revive our spirit and restore the joy we lost. He will give us a revived heart, full of zest to worship Him all the time. No matter what happens, we have hope. Just as Jacob heard about Joseph and his spirit was revived, may God send us His words of hope to revive us and help us live our lives fully. May we relentlessly believe that we will see the people we think we lost on the other hand. As much as Jesus is alive, God is there this truth about Resurrection and our hope is there.
Dear God, thank you for your power of resurrection. May mourning never take anything away from us. May we be filled with hope and a revived spirit, joyful and eager to worship You, the ever-faithful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Fill us with words of hope, Lord. Revive our spirits. May we truly know and feel heaven and You while we are living on earth. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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