Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

When Thomas Dorsey’s wife died in childbirth, he was devastated. Not only did he love her but he totally depended on her to take care of the child. Then his grief was compounded with the death of the little baby who had also struggled at birth. Within a few days, both of them died, and he was completely alone as two dark clouds of grief descended on his life.

He cried out, “Lord, why did this have to happen to me?” And then after walking in the darkness of frustration, he sat down at an old upright piano and began to voice the prayer of his heart, singing the words softly to the tune of a then popular melody. He intoned, “Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light: Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”

Whether it is the loss of one you love, the loss of a baby or a child yet unborn, your heart grieves, but one of the questions that always confronts those who suffer is this: “Does God care? Is He really aware of what is happening? Or is He indifferent to the whole matter?”

When your emotions are affected, logic or things that you know to be true don’t figure largely in your frame of reference. Logic is masked by your pain and grief. Yet when you think of your feelings when your children suffer, and realize that you hurt for them, you also realize that God, who loves you far more than you love your children, must empathize with your pain and grief as well. You were made in God’s image. You emote—you love, you hate, you suffer, and you have compassion.   “Like father, like son,” we say.

Remember when God’s son hung on that old cross outside the walls of Jerusalem on Good Friday, God turned His head and could not look, as the sky was dark from noon to 3:00 P.M. Then, do you not remember reading Old Testament passages how God grieved over Israel, who turned their back on Him and served pagan Gods? Over 80 times the Bible mentions tears, including a reference in the book of Revelation where the tears of those who have suffered are a sacrifice to God Himself.

A closing thought. Remember if you would that Christ’s coming was also accompanied by pain and probably tears as well. Our gain was heaven’s loss as Jesus left heaven and became flesh, living and dwelling among us. At a memorial service, speaking of someone who has gone home to heaven, I often remind family and friends that our loss has become heaven’s gain. But the reverse took place at Bethlehem.

Heaven lost a Son, and we gained a Savior. Rarely do we ever think of Christmas in terms of the Father who knew what would happen as His son left the portals of heaven and came to Earth. He knew what the end would be—the suffering and passion of crucifixion as well as the joy He would bring to the hearts of those who suffer.

The reality is that birth and death are both painful in different ways. It is also just as true that God is not indifferent to what happens in your life, whether it is the loss of one you love, as Thomas Dorsey experienced—the man who wrote, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”–or the loss of a child yet unborn.

God knows. God cares. And God sees your tears. Thank God, as the Psalmist wrote, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18, NKJV).

Resource reading: Psalm 34.