Ms. Lynn runs an after-school program in her local youth center for boys and girls. Everyone loves her, but she never thought she would ever hold such a position, or any position for that matter. She married her high school sweetheart at eighteen, and he joined the military as a way of supporting his young wife. He made a career of it and they traveled together all over the world. They had a wonderful marriage until he was killed a few months before their 12th wedding anniversary. They didn’t have any children, so at the age of 33, Lynn found herself alone, with no serious work experience, and depressed beyond any sadness she had ever experienced in her life.
She couldn’t wrap her head around how quickly things changed. They spent every moment they could together, and it seemed impossible that anything would ever happen to her strong, beautiful husband. Anthony was so full of life and seemed to have endless energy. She would have followed him to the ends of the earth. His love was tender and sweet, and she thought there would never be another man that would compare to him. No one would ever love her the way he did, she thought, and everything in her heart except her love for him went numb.
As the realization of life without Anthony slowly crept in, so did all the other things that she had never before had to worry about, like bills and rent. Lynn was very close to her sister and brother, but she wasn’t about to lean on them for financial support; they had families to care for. She knew she had to handle things on her own and wouldn’t see it any other way.
Plucked out of her tailor-made fairytale and plopped into the middle of a tragedy she could never have imagined, life seemed impossible. This is very often how it feels when we’re faced with situations that are so far from what we’ve envisioned for our lives. Her grief was overwhelming, and at times, she felt the will to live was slipping away. She couldn’t see how the pieces would ever come together again and felt completely uninspired and too weak to make them fit.
Her family were never spiritual people, but her husband’s mother had introduced her to the person of Jesus Christ shortly after she and Anthony married. She shared her husband’s faith and it added to the beauty of their lives together. Even so, it had never occurred to her that through the Lord Jesus Christ, she could have a relationship with God that would far surpass the depth and beauty of her relationship with Anthony. For a long time after her husband’s death, she would not give herself the chance to find this out.
Her husband’s family were praying for her, and she knew it, but she couldn’t bring herself to reach out to them for comfort. Lynn wanted Anthony back and became very resentful of the fact that they did not have children before he died. She would not allow her heart to trust God because she could not understand why He had allowed her sweet husband to die. The absence of closure, a heart that was beyond broken, and a mind that was not renewed with God’s Word caused Lynn to sink further into an abyss of pain.
Many of us have been in the valley, in that abyss of pain and suffering. We may not have realized it at the time, that abyss is the ground upon which seeds can produce a great harvest in our lives. In Luke 8, Jesus Christ gave a parable of a farmer that scattered seeds. In verse 6 (NLT), he said, “Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.” He then explained in Luke 8:13 (NLT), “The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.” It’s clear from the teaching of Christ that the tribulations and temptations of life can cause us to fall away from him. God doesn’t want this to happen to anyone. Our problems, sadness, and grief are never so deep that He cannot rescue us, and we must trust this.
God never wants us to see the problems of this life as larger than His willingness and ability to bless us, but when we abandon our trust in Him, that is really what we are doing. The seed that the farmer scattered is the Word of God, and many of us have seen those without deep roots come and go, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus Christ explained to us that even in rocky conditions, a seed can grow as long as it has moisture. We can and must trust this.
It cannot be lost on us that our hearts are like soil where the seed of the Word of God can be received, rooted, and then blossom in our lives. The heart is designed and purposed by our Creator as the place where the seed of His Word can be sown; it is up to us whether or not it will take root. Through the tribulations and troubles of life, our enemy, the devil, will try at all cost to prevent God’s Word from taking root. When we are attacked this way, challenges and difficulties can shroud our judgment, isolate us, and make us feel there’s no remedy for our pain. This is not true.
God admonishes us through the Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:7 (NLT), “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Thankfulness is the milk of heaven; it is more than good for the soul and cultivating thankfulness should be the goal of every person that is brokenhearted. Our pain makes us think that the restoration of what has been lost is the right medicine, but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is the true vine, and he’s the solution for all that ails us.
Whether it is overwhelming disappointment, the loss of someone we love, or the sting of rejection and loneliness; any of these can cause our hearts to become stony and rocky against our faith in God. His Word is the strong and hearty seed we need. “Jesus, I give it all to you…” is just the right amount of moisture our heart needs. We will not always know or be able to explain why tragedies happen in our lives, but we can have confidence that God will comfort and help us. He will give us a new heart, and when Lynn truly surrendered, she received one. None of us can do the restorative work that needs to take place in our souls, but Ephesians 3:20(NLT) declares, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” The indwelling Holy Spirit can and will do this work if we trust in God and have patience as He restores our souls.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Back from the Abyss of Pain and Grief” written by Reverend Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.