TOPIC:‌“Facing Sorrow With Christ”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Isaiah 53:3; I Thessalonians 4:13

 

‌‌“He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrow, and

‌‌acquainted with grief…”

 

‌‌“that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope”

 

‌In time of sorrow there is consolation in knowing that we never face it alone. The same conquering Christ who guides us in life is the same comforting Christ who strengthens us in sorrow. He is able to do this because no one knows sorrow like Him. Isaiah wrote that Christ was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). To put it in the words of the hymn writer:

 

‌‌‌“Does Jesus care when I've said “good-by”

‌‌‌To the dearest on earth to me,

‌‌‌And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks

‌‌‌Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

 

O yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Saviour cares.”

 

‌Though there is sadness for those left behind when a loved one dies, there is joy for that one going to Heaven knowing that they will be in the very presence of Christ. So death is not a night of hopelessness, but a day of happiness. As the Apostle Paul declared: “Now we don't want you, my brothers, to be in any doubt about those who “fall asleep” in death, or to grieve over them like men who have no hope. After all, if we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again from death, then we can believe that God will just as surely bring with Jesus all who are “asleep in him” (I Thessalonians 4:13, 14, Phillips).

 

‌Christ offers men a faith which enables them to face up to the reality of death, but at the same time to acknowledge the finality of victory over death. I would like to encourage you to read the following pages and permit the Holy Spirit . . .