LISTEN ONLINEThe lively, laughing children were enjoying a dance workshop in Southport, northern England, during their holidays. Suddenly a man appeared, wielding a knife. Cruelly, he murdered three precious little girls, utterly broke their loving families and horrified a peaceful community. Stunned, the watching nation couldn’t process such senseless devastation.
A church leader promised that the church was “part of that community, that experience”, adding, “The most important message is that we are there with you and for you. I don’t think any words are going to make sense of the situation.”
There is no sense in grief. God never designed us to say “goodbye”—to loved ones, relationships, health. The psalmist described his own excruciating grief as “the darkest depths” (Psalm 88:6). Crying out to God in confusion, he went further: “You have put me in the lowest pit.” There was no way forward, no answer, no quick fix, no cure. “I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief” (vv. 8-9).
In the senselessness of his grief, the psalmist receives no answer. But he does set a great example: “I call to you, Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to you” (v. 9). In our grief, may we learn to journey every day with our Father, spreading our hands out to Him. No words will make sense of our situation, but His presence will hold us, even in our unspeakable pain.