We are in a season of mourning. Let’s make the most of it.
You are not walking this journey alone.
Our hearts are breaking as we watch the news and see the coronavirus cases and subsequent deaths increase.
“Why God?” I’m asking, over and again. I’m sure many others are also asking this simple but profound question.
Unemployment rates are skyrocketing, and families are barely making ends meet. “Why, God?”
College students spent years studying and countless late nights writing papers. They built their resumes only to miss out on their graduations and search for jobs in the midst of a recession.
It just doesn’t make sense. None of it does. Even the things that seem trivial – cancelled tour dates and sporting events and conferences – are real losses.
And meaningful milestones like weddings are being postponed or downscaled or broadcast via videoconference. It’s unthinkable.
We want to daydream and wish it all away. The feeling of loss and fear is crippling for some. Others are in a state of shock. We all wish this pandemic would disappear and wonder what we can do to escape it or somehow turn back the clock.
But I don’t think that’s the point. This isn’t a time for digging to find the answers and the dreaded and long awaited “whys” behind the pain. We are entering into a season of lament.
A lament is an honest declaration -- declaring one’s thoughts over the injustices and undeserved tribulation that’s at hand. Job is one of the Bible’s most famous lamenters. He addresses his deep pain as he writes, “I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes,” (3:26). It’s heavy, and it’s raw. Job’s lament reveals humanity in its truest form. May we do the same in embracing this season of feeling every single ounce of loss through mourning and grieving.
The Bible says there’s a time for everything, “…a time to break down, and a time to build up, a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…” (Ecclesiastes 3:3-4). This is what it means to be fully human – a human after The Fall. Our paths were never promised to be perfectly leveled out and paved with ease. But we were promised guidance and our daily needs to be met.
So yes, now is the time to lament and mourn and grieve. What follows are some ideas for how we can do that well.
If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.
Even Jesus took the time to weep and to mourn. With only 30 years on this earth, and just about three of those years being “active” in ministry, he still had times of lament. Tears streamed down Jesus’ face as He mourned over Lazarus. He wept and prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He lamented through painful cries and feelings of abandonment upon the cross.
God is not wasting our time by enabling pain to have a say in our lives, leaving us to grieve and mourn. There is purpose and intentionality behind the deafening silence, shattering loss, and weeping that you may be experiencing. We can feel validated in this grief. This isn’t an excuse to sit and sulk, or to plant yourself in the literal “valley of the shadow of death.” Seasons pass. Growth can happen if we allow it.
Begin rebuilding.
We will find beauty as pieces of this strange puzzle come together in due time. Get to work and sit at the feet of Jesus. Allow the quietness to seep into your soul and to soak every broken piece in His boundless grace and untainted joy. And, try to find your artistic expression of nourishing your soul and pouring your gifts into the pain you may be feeling from loneliness, loss, and confusion. Personally, I express every thought or feeling that captivates my mind and write them down on the pages of my journal. I’ll go on runs outside and listen to good music. Or, I’ll take up a captivating book with a perfectly brewed coffee in my hand. Find your niche and your gifting. You have a lot of time to uncover the innate gifts God has engraved upon your genetic makeup. Lamenting is an artform of worship. Use your gifts to immerse yourself into an honest and vulnerable relationship with the Lord.
If you’re isolated at home like I am – like many of us are in this coronavirus world – we can’t control many things right now. But we do have control over how we pick ourselves up and choose to walk in truth and life.
Start with the source.
The ways in which we see God are truly exposed in the midst of trial and confusion. There are no “religious” pretty words and phrases, or in this case, no mindless tasks and busy agendas to try to cover up the ways in which we view God. In my own story, I allowed bitterness to fester in my heart over outcomes that I never planned and deemed to be unfair. Without realizing it, my basis of who God was to me was dependent on how my life played out. But God remains the same no matter how much change and uncertainty we face.
So maybe this is where we should start. Ask yourself, how do I view God? Is it holding me back from experiencing the freedom presented in the gospel or pushing me forward to a more intimate relationship with the Lord?
As A.W. Tozer addresses in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy: “Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them.” You simply can’t experience the fullness of who God is and bask in His undeniable, divine goodness if you don’t truly believe that He is good and worthy of all praises. At the end of the day, healing and the fullness of worship begins with the source. Where is your starting point?
Don’t worry. Carry on with endurance.
The coronavirus pandemic is not giving us an end date. We could be living in quarantine or self-isolation or uncertainty for months to come. I think that’s what the process of mourning looks a lot like, too. There is no timeline, and no one’s timeline for growth and restoration is identical. As it says in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Again, in Luke 12:25-26, Jesus speaks on the topic of worry by questioning, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
Sometimes I’ll convince myself that I have the ability and strength to change my circumstances. I try forcefully stepping into each day and writing out a curated plan to change the outcomes of whatever trouble I’m facing. But that can make me lose sight of the purpose of the often-difficult path I’m walking on. I forget about the power of the one holding my hand.
Keep walking.
This is not our burden to carry alone. We all feel helpless watching the number of cases and deaths rise, and it makes us feel like we should be doing something about it. But many of us can’t do anything – other than staying home and practicing social distancing. So, let’s be intentional with each moment we have in a day. Let’s focus on what we can control and how God’s ability to give us peace despite our circumstances exceeds all other coping methods. Let’s focus our minds on the truth, and trust that God is at work and His timing is perfect.
Holy week is upon us, and I can’t help but think of Mary. Mary’s world was being shattered as Jesus’s accusers and abusers taunted and jeered at him. When she gave up her precious son and watched them torture him, she had to cling to what she knew was true. She had to trust that her son’s death was going to be the start of a revival among the hearts of those who had turned against him, those who fell short of belief and mocked him. “This is the King of the Jews,” they carved into the notice above his head. They challenged Jesus to save himself if he was who he proclaimed to be.
With the weight of the sickness and loss around us, it’s natural to sit here and ask, “If You’re the one and true Messiah, why don’t you save us from this pandemic?”
I’m not going to act like I know the answer to this question. But I know Jesus is victorious and righteous over all that is breaking apart. I know that in His loving-kindness towards His children, He would never disregard their weeping and mourning. He answers to those who call on His name. He meets us exactly where we’re at. He doesn’t expect us to be the ones doing the saving. We’re supposed to walk in faith.
Truly walking in faith is knowing that His plans remain in place even when sickness has come to wreak havoc in many lives. Again, in this Easter season, we’re reminded that there will be revival. Let us remember, Jesus rose again and gave our undeserving souls the ability to have life and life to the FULL.
Be encouraged. You are not walking this journey alone.
There is more to come.
I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below or by sending me an email at Katherine.stanley@comcast.net. Let’s be an encouragement to each other. How can I specifically be praying for you during this hard time of uncertainty and loss?