Devotion for September 14, 2026

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.” (Psalm 34:18, NCV)

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:25-27)

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Everyone will experience loss. And you don’t just “get over” a loss. If you’re scared to express emotion and refuse to go through it, that’s where you get stuck.

You get unstuck by letting God help you. Here are six ways he does that:

1. God draws you close to himself.
   Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed” (NCV). When you grieve, God may seem a million miles away. But what you feel and what is real are not always the same thing. In fact, God has never been any closer to you than when you are grieving.
2. God grieves with you.
   The Bible says Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3, NLT). When you come to Jesus with your grief, He is sympathetic and understands your pain. He’s not aloof or apathetic.
3. God gives you a church family for support.
   We’re meant to grieve and heal in community through our church family. We’re better together! “Be devoted to one another in love … Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:10, 15, NIV).
4. God uses grief to help you grow.
   He does this in three ways. First, God uses pain to get your attention. The Bible says, “My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure” (James 1:2-3, GNT). Second, He brings good out of bad (Romans 8:28), and third, He prepares you for eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
5. God gives you the hope of heaven.
   If you believe in and trust Jesus Christ for salvation, then you will spend eternity in heaven with God — and that hope will sustain you through your time of loss. The Bible says, “We don’t want you to be ignorant about those who have died. We don’t want you to grieve like other people who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, GW).
6. God uses your pain to help others.
   This is called redemptive pain, and it is the highest and best use of your pain. “[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:4, NLT).

Prayer

Father, I thank You for being with me at all times, both good and bad. Help me to be with others in the same way, so that they can see the love You show and the peace You can give through the salvation offered through Your Son, Jesus.