Gospel Hope for Sadness
We've all experienced sad days before. Days when the world feels blue and hope feels far off. Days when heaviness and despair feel so close that they seem to have melded as a part of you. Days when tears feel like your closest friends.
Are you sad today?
Maybe you have a reason for your sadness–the loss of a friend, the loneliness that stalks you, or the most recent invasion of bad news. Or maybe, there's seemingly no reason for your sadness. Your life is fine, and nothing is really "wrong." You wish there were because then you could fix it. The problem is that everything seems to be going just swimmingly, at least on paper, and yet you can't stop the tears from invading the white space of your day. So what do you do when you're sad? What encouragement do you remind yourself when the darkness will not lift, and you cry every moment you're alone? When you're heavy and burdened and just feeling down?
The words of Scripture bring us great hope in sadness. They remind us of two fundamental truths that change everything. First, Christ is with us in our tears. He cries with us and comforts us. Second, Christ is coming again to make all things right.
- Christ is with you
Christ is with you in your sadness. He is with the tired and the downcast, the broken and the needy. He is with the weak, the meek, the poor, and the broken. Christ doesn't condemn you from His mighty throne because of your weakness but kneels down to wrap you up in His arms. In your sadness, He doesn't scream, "Pucker up, buttercup. Get it together!" He empathizes, comforts, heals, and draws near.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis beautifully displays this truth through the story of a boy named Digory. Digory's mom had cancer and was going to die. So Digory went to King Aslan to ask for a miracle. He said,
But please, please–won't you–can't you give me something that will cure Mother?' Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion's eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory's own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself. 'My son, my son,' said Aslan. 'I know. Grief is great.
In the same way, Christ does not push us away in our weakness. He draws us in, and He cries with us. He knows what it is to suffer, so much so He earned the name "man of sorrows" in Scripture (Isaiah 53:3). He knows what it means to be betrayed and abandoned, to feel the scrapes and bruises of life. He knows what it feels like to lose loved ones and go hungry. He knows the feeling of exhaustion, shame, and abandonment, being left to die naked and alone on a tree. He knows what sadness feels like and doesn't condemn you for it. He is with you in it.
2. Christ is Coming Again
For those who love Christ, we know that our sadness is only temporary. Today, our hearts cry because this world is broken. We rage against the hurts and pains of this world, knowing it wasn't supposed to be this way. But one day, Christ will wipe every tear, and our sadness will be no more (Revelation 21:4). We will live in the land of perfect unity, justice, and peace. He will make everything right.
When God returns, there will be no more sickness, loneliness, or loss. There will be healing and joy. There will be fulfillment and fullness beyond what we've ever experienced. There will be love and peace. It will be better than the best belly laugh or the most heart-warming moments we've ever had. It will be sweeter than our favorite Christmas memory or the time when we felt most loved. Eternity with Christ will be even better than every earthly joy. Our wait will be over, and we will be with our God. He is coming to make everything right again.
Until that day comes, we run to Him. We reorient our hearts toward eternity and remember that there is still hope. God hasn't left us alone. He is with us today. As we talk with Him in prayer, we hope for what is unseen- for the future reality that awaits His children. For a day is coming when there will be no more sadness. On that day, He will bring us safely home to His kingdom of everlasting, all-satisfying, over-abounding joy.
In your seasons of sadness, remember: you are not alone. Christ is with you. He weeps with you, comforts you, and He is coming again to make all things new.
