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All glory be to God
Hope in Sorrow
In the initial stages of mourning, rational explanations are uncaring and unconvincing. The soul is in too much pain to think rationally. However, believers in Christ who struggle honestly with loss must remember God’s promises—promises that provide desperately needed hope for the journey through grief.
Tim Jackson
Death was nonexistent in the original world. Adam and Eve’s choice to go their own way severed their life-giving relationship with God, shattering their security and resulting in a death sentence for all humanity.
The apostle Paul referred to Adam and Eve’s sin when he wrote, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
We grieve because we live in a world plagued by sin and death. The infection of sin produces groaning in grief that grips our hearts and permeates all of creation:
“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope” (Romans 8:22-24).
It’s this inward groaning for restoration that is at the core of our struggle with grief.
We grieve because we live in a world plagued by sin and death.
In the initial stages of mourning, rational explanations are uncaring and unconvincing. The soul is in too much pain to think rationally. However, believers in Christ who struggle honestly with loss must remember God’s promises—promises that provide desperately needed hope for the journey through grief.
What Can Never Be Lost?
God’s unshakable love. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” are simple lyrics that reflect profound spiritual truth—simple, yet not simplistic. That basic truth has kept me and many others moving through grief when nothing else could. The deepest expression of God’s enduring love for us was the incarnation, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 5:8). Whatever loss has forced us into our valley of grief, we can find confidence and strength in His unfailing love (Psalm 46; Romans 8:35-39).
God’s reassuring presence. Comfort comes from knowing that, though we are surrounded by death and the pain of loss has pierced our hearts, we are not alone. The rod and staff of Psalm 23:4 are the symbols of God’s presence and protection as we negotiate the treacherous valley of grief. Rarely is a satisfying explanation for our suffering and grief given. Rather, God shares our suffering through His suffering Son who is our faithful and merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2:9,17) who never abandons us (Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:5).
What Can Be Found?
Renewed dependence on God. “Faith is a footbridge that you don’t know will hold you up over the chasm until you’re forced to walk out on to it.”[1] Followers of Christ who journey through grief and loss, often in time look back and thank God for a level of intimacy with Him that was previously unknown. Despite the lingering pain of loss, they have a more trusting relationship with God, for which they are deeply grateful.
Since the death of my parents, I’m closer to God than I’ve ever been before. I’m closer to Jesus who has made resurrection life possible for all who have trusted Him, whether dead or alive (John 11:25-26). I’m certainly more aware of how fragile and fleeting life really is and how deeply dependent I am on God. That knowledge renews my focus on what really matters in life.
Rediscovered purpose in life. For some, the journey through grief becomes a door to a new direction. Parents who know the pain of losing a child can sometimes find new purpose in reaching out to other grieving parents. Dave Branon, who lost a teenage daughter in a car accident over a decade ago, says, “This is not the ministry that I would have ever chosen, but it’s the one I have been given.” Dave’s experience led him to write a book, Beyond the Valley, and to speak openly about his journey through grief and loss. His journey has helped many grieving parents along the way.
Despite the lingering pain of loss, they have a more trusting relationship with God, for which they are deeply grateful.
I have spent countless hours counseling people who were grieving over a variety of losses. What I’ve found is that God uses my experiences of loss to connect more deeply with my clients in their losses. Whatever your loss, God may give you opportunities to share your story and encourage others on their journey.
Good from Loss?
When our world is rocked by the loss of a loved one, the thought of something good coming from it sounds absurd, even vulgar. But on a hill in Galilee, Jesus taught His followers that “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Our hope in sorrow is this: Grief over any loss can have a good effect if it brings us to the feet of the Savior, if it puts us among the multitudes who came to Jesus needing comfort and rescue because we believe that He is our only hope (4:23–5:1).
The unsettling reality is that loss and change are inevitably linked. Loss changes things forever. However, we are not passive players in that change; we get to decide how it shapes us, whether it makes us bitter or better. The crucible of grief and loss forges character. God wants to use even the most painful of circumstances to deepen our reliance on Him (ROM. 5:2-5). His goodness is revealed against the dark backdrop of painful losses in ways we otherwise may never have known.
Nicholas Wolterstorff describes it well:
To believe in Christ’s rising and death’s dying is also to live with the power and the challenge to rise up now from all our dark graves of suffering love. If sympathy for the world’s wounds is not enlarged by our anguish, if love for those around us is not expanded, if gratitude for what is good does not flame up, if insight is not deepened, if commitment to what is important is not strengthened, if aching for a new day is not intensified, if hope is weakened, and faith diminished, if from the experience of death comes nothing good, then death has won.[2]
Death doesn’t have the final say. Yes, it’s the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26), but Jesus, our hope, has crushed death in His resurrection (15:54-57). Therefore we have and can offer hope and comfort, looking forward to the day when we’ll never say goodbye again.
Until that day arrives, grieving with hope—hope of resurrection—frees us to enjoy life again. Remembering our loss will always cause pain and may at times move us to tears again (as writing this did for me). But the life-changing valley of grief also increases our appreciation for life and our anticipation of Christ’s return.
This article is from Discoverodb.org
Our Daily Bread Devotional
Beneath the rugged cliffs of Brora, Scotland, a sheep needed rescue. Trapped at the base of a cliff, surrounded by steep and unyielding rock on one side and the vast ocean on the other, the sheep had been on its own for two long years. Despite several rescue attempts, no one could reach her until a determined farmer named Cammy Wilson and four friends successfully executed a risky rescue mission. Three members of the team carefully descended nearly 820 feet down the cliff to get her, using a winch and a lot of courage to lift her out of her predicament.
The determined and sympathetic farmer and team reflect the compassion of our loving Father as depicted in Jeremiah 23:1-3. The prophet denounced Judah’s sinful leaders as shepherds who were “destroying and scattering the sheep of [God’s] pasture!” (v. 1). God declared through Jeremiah that—due to the ruthless way they treated His helpless people—He’d “bestow punishment” on them (v. 2). He saw the plight of His scattered flock and was deeply concerned about them. Not only was God concerned, but He also said He’d lovingly regather His sheep from places of exile and bring them to a place of safety and abundance (v. 3).
When we feel lost, trapped, or isolated, our heavenly Father sees our plight and won’t leave us stranded. He actively seeks to rescue and restore us.
Reflect & Pray
In what ways are you spiritually trapped and isolated? How does it encourage you to know God sees your challenge?
Heavenly Father, thank You for being my Good Shepherd.
Iran asks its citizens to delete WhatsApp from their devices
Iranian state television urged people to remove WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging without specific evidence that the messaging app gathered user information to send to Israel.
In a statement to the Associated Press,** WhatsApp said it was “concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.”
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, meaning messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If someone else tries to access these messages all they will see is a distorted message that can't be unscrambled without a key.
“We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” the statement added. “We do not provide bulk information to any government”.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the US-based parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The app had been one of the most popular messaging apps aside from Instagram and Telegram.
This wouldn't be the first time that Iran has asked people to limit their use of WhatsApp. In 2022, the country banned WhatsApp during mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country's morality police.
Possible to understand unencrypted WhatsApp metadata
Cybersecurity expert Gregory Falco said it’s been demonstrated that it’s possible to understand metadata about WhatsApp that does not get encrypted.
“So you can understand things about how people are using the app and that’s been a consistent issue where people have not been interested in engaging with WhatsApp for that (reason),” he said.
Another issue is data sovereignty, Falco added, where data centres hosting WhatsApp data from a certain country are not necessarily located in that country. It’s more than feasible, for instance, that WhatsApp’s data from Iran is not hosted in Iran.
“Countries need to house their data in-country and process the data in-country with their own algorithms. Because it’s really hard increasingly to trust the global network of data infrastructure,” he said.
The Swaddling Band of God: A Message from Job 38:9
“When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it.”
— Job 38:9 (KJV)
🕊️ Introduction
Have you ever watched a mother wrap her newborn in a soft cloth—carefully, gently, lovingly—protecting the child, holding it close, calming its cries?
Now imagine the sea, wild and untamed, bursting forth in power.
And then—imagine God wrapping that sea.
Not with ropes.
Not with chains.
But with clouds for its clothing...
and thick darkness as a swaddling band.
In Job 38:9, God speaks—not just to Job, but to all of us—about creation, control, and care. This verse is more than poetry. It's divine perspective wrapped in imagery we can all understand.
Let us unravel it together.
🌊 The Sea, Born Like a Child
In this part of the book of Job, God is finally responding after Job has poured out his pain, confusion, and questions. But instead of giving Job answers, God asks questions:
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4)
And then He paints a picture:
The sea is born like a baby.
God is the midwife.
The clouds become its clothing.
And the darkness, its swaddling band.
What is a swaddling band?
It's a strip of cloth used to wrap infants, especially in ancient times. It keeps them warm, secure, and still. It calms them, teaches them boundaries, and protects their fragile frame.
In ancient Israel, and especially in biblical symbolism, swaddling wasn’t just about baby care—it was a sign of belonging, identity, and order.
And God is saying:
>Even the mighty, restless sea was wrapped up and calmed by Me.
🖋️ A Poetic Reflection
When oceans roared their infant cry,
And thunder rolled across the sky,
The Lord above bent low to see—
And swaddled seas in mystery.
He wrapped them not with human hand,
But cloaked them in a dark command,
With clouds for robes, and winds for breath,
He cradled chaos, conquered death.
🧠 Simplified Meaning for Today
Let’s break it down simply:
God is describing the sea as something He created and controlled.
Even though the sea seems wild and powerful, God “swaddled” it like a baby, setting limits and boundaries.
This reminds us that nothing in creation is outside God’s authority—not the sea, not the storm, not even the suffering Job was facing.
So when you feel like life is out of control, or when the "seas" of your circumstances feel like they’ll drown you, remember:
The same God who swaddled the seas swaddles you.
🔔 A Final Word: God’s Gentle Power
Job 38:9 shows us that God is not just a force of raw power—He is a nurturing Creator. He doesn't just command the storm; He wraps it in a blanket.
He knows how to:
Birth the world
Tame the chaos
And care for His people
He’s not distant. He’s present.
He’s not careless. He’s careful.
He didn’t just create the world. He contains it with love.
So the next time you hear thunder roll or waves crash, remember the swaddling band.
And rest in the arms of the One who still says,
“Peace, be still.”
