[The LORD] has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted . . . to comfort all who mourn.

Devotion based on Isaiah 61:1,2

Are you in mourning? You certainly are if you are grieving the loss of a loved one. But those who study the subject of grief tell us that the loss of a loved one does not even begin to cover all the circumstances that can put us into a state of mourning. Any profound sense of loss can hurl us into a pit of grief. Examples? I can mourn the loss of a relationship. When I have to move, I can mourn the loss of where I used to live. I can mourn the loss of a job position I sincerely enjoyed. I can mourn my childhood friends because time and distance have separated us. I can mourn the loss of my health. I can mourn the loss of my spouse’s health. I can mourn the loss of my parent’s health. I can even mourn what might have been—grieving a sinful failure from long ago that has had consequences right up to the present.

In our Bible reading today, the prophet Isaiah says that the Savior is coming “to comfort all who mourn.” In the immediate context, the people to whom Isaiah is speaking are not mourning the loss of loved ones. Rather, they are mourning the disastrous consequences of their sins and unfaithfulness.

And this is one of the reasons Jesus came. He came so that mourning and grief in your life and mine do not have the last word. Where you and I have been unfaithful, Jesus has lived a life of perfect faithfulness on our behalf. Where you and I have done things—or not done things—that have created for us years of regret, Jesus has taken those sinful failures and washed them away at the cross. And because he has, not only do you and I stand forgiven through faith in him; he also displaces our mourning with his comfort—a comfort that goes beyond words, a comfort that surrounds us in security and contentment and joy and peace. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

Prayer:

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