The pain of losing a loved one can be excruciating, especially if we are left alone after
their passing. People we may have been very close to, who always had our backs,
and demonstrated unconditional love for most of our lives can be seriously missed.
We miss them because we got used to sharing our troubles and our good times with
them. Even though we may know the Bible and pray, we still miss them. Christ never
said this pain was unspiritual, He just called on us to remain focused while
experiencing the pain (John 11:33-36; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; 5:14). I am convinced of
this one thing—we will never stop missing those we genuinely loved and who
sincerely loved us.
Christ knew the disciples would miss Him, so He taught them how to function when
they were in pain. We see how dismayed they were when Christ ascended into
heaven, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking
on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight, and as they were gazing intently into
the sky while He was going…” (Acts 1:9-10). He taught them to remember they
would one day be there with Him (John 14:1-4; Matthew 18:27-30). Before this
happened, He told them they would have the Holy Spirit imputed into them to
provide them comfort (John 14:25-28). In other words, even though they may get
the theology, they need the love. This may sound good but how does it work?
The Spirit, all by Himself, is our means of experiencing peace (John 14:27).
Experiencing the powerful work of the Holy Spirit within us is what shapes our spirit
to provide us strength when we are weak (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). This is the core of
it all. This is why Christ calls the Spirit our Helper. Christ tells us we must remain
committed to truth (John 8:31-32) because this connects us directly to the Spirit who
is the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17) and this turns the lights on in our hearts (1 John
1:5-7). We must not allow the circumstances we are in (create conflicting thoughts,
doubt, etc.) to cause us to fear (John 14:27). Our obedience leads to the Spirit
renewing our minds and transforming our hearts (Romans 12:2) and Christ and God
loving on us (John 15:8-10; answered prayer, etc.). We also should not isolate
ourselves from the church because this is the place God holds accountable to love
and support His children (Romans 12:9-15). When we remain focused (because this
becomes our deliverance) the worst of the pain vanishes and the empowerment we
need from the Spirit of God (Philippians 2:12-13) keeps our hope alive (1
Thessalonians 4:13) and makes us less dependent on ourselves and more dependent
on Him.
Christ’s Helper— the Holy Spirit— has a mission to be our peace. He’s our Comforter
and we must engage Him.
