September brings a lot with its presence. For many, September 11th is still a very painful anniversary marking the loss of hundreds of lives, the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City and the attack on The Pentagon in Washington D.C. Besides this, this month has been filled with the untimely deaths of family members and friends in our circle. How do you deal with death? And how do you help others in their times of mourning?
The Bible is filled with encouragement when it comes to this topic. Although we all cope with loss differently, we all experience pain with any type of loss. When you have lost someone, you may just want company, a shoulder to cry on, or a person to vent to. If you have a friend who has lost someone, that person may need the same things or something totally different to make it through each day. But while we sometimes struggle to know how to deal with the loss, we can search The Scriptures to gain solace during our hurt. Here are some of our favorite comforting texts:
1. Psalm 17:1-2 “Here O Jehovah, righteousness, attend my cry, Give ear to my prayer, without lips of deceit. From before Thee my judgement doth go out; Thine eyes do see uprightly”
2. Psalm 28:1-2 “Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle”
3. Psalm 28:7 ” The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him”
4. Psalm 30:5 “For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”
5. Psalm 31:9 and 31:14 “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly”, “But I trusted in Thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God”
6. Psalm 34:18 ” The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit”
7. Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of The Lord is the death of His saints”
8. Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem”
9. Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted”
10. Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep”
11. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of mercies and God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”
12. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with they trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet The Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with The Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with the words”
Also read these full chapters: Psalm 16, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 27, Psalm 51, John 14.
May you be comforted in your times of loss and comfort others. Mourn and thank God for the precious times we had with our loved ones.