Encouragement to Press On ⁽²⁵⁾

He Lights Up Your Next Step in the Dark "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." — Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Grief can make the future feel too large to face. The mind reaches ahead and finds darkness: next week,…

United Prayer Helps When Waiting "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." — Acts 1:14 (NIV) Waiting can feel lonelier than the loss itself. After the shock, after the funeral, after…

Lean on God, Then Take the Next Step "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." — Philippians 4:13 (NIV) There are days when the next step feels unreasonable. Not the whole future. Not a grand act of courage. Just getting up,…

A Truthful Fellowship is Powerful "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." — James 5:16 (NIV) Grief can make silence feel safer than truth.

No Guilt: Allow Joy of the Lord to Become Your Strength "Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the…

Hope Is Never an Insult to Your Grief "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." — Romans 15:13 (NIV) Hope can…

When, in Spite of Yourself, the Pain Remains "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God." — Psalm 42:5 (NIV) The psalmist interrogates his own soul.

Let Fellowship Be Your God-Given Family "God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land." — Psalm 68:6 (NIV) Loneliness in grief is not a sign of abandonment. It is a sign that…

Let God Sustain You in Your Grief "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." — Isaiah…

Renewed Daily Through Hardship "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." — 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV) Paul does not hide the reality of decline. Outwardly, life breaks down. Bodies weaken, strength…

He Will Never Forget or Forsake You "For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to…

When You are Exhausted, Let God Lead You Higher "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." — Psalm 61:2 (NIV) There are days when strength…