When you are inconsolable, God reaches you in your grief and pain. Sometimes he even reaches you through a comforting hymn. If you are in a season of pain and suffering, remember that all three Persons of the Trinity are for you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are not alone!
“My soul refuses to be comforted.” It’s right there in Psalm 77.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I know, I just know you have felt that way, too. Because, sooner or later, it happens to us all when we experience a bitter calamity. It happens when you discover a lump where there shouldn’t be one. Or that your child disappears while at play. A car veering over the yellow line. Or a devastating diagnosis out of the blue. When it occurs, it’s going to feel bizarre, and meaningless, and undeserved. You will not perceive it as a test of faith or as the Lord's discipline. You won’t view it as a blessing in disguise or as part of a wondrous plan engineered by a trustworthy God. Instead, the tragedy is going to attack every conviction you’ve ever held about the goodness of God. Virtually 99.99% of the time, you know God to be gracious and kind, but, oh, that wretched .01% when all appears malicious, cruel, and unjust. It’s what happened to my friend Peggy. For nearly thirty-five years, she enjoyed a blissful marriage to her college sweetheart. They had it all, both serving together as top executives in a national media corporation. Jon was diagnosed early on, though, with Hodgkin’s disease, but they took it in stride. It bonded them together. Jon became Peg’s treasured confidant. Her soulmate. It was never just “Peggy;” it was always “Peggy and Jon.” They were beautiful warriors together in his battle to stay healthy.
Then, it turned to esophageal cancer. And I do not need to share the details. His death was devastating. And Peggy was numb with grief. And profoundly lonely, sitting by herself in their stately, spacious, very empty home. Nothing could console her. But a gentle hymn, a certain hymn came close. It was always a favorite of Jon’s . . . “Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish; come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here, bring your wounded heart, here tell all your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” Those stanzas are, well, they’re for the inconsolable – when sorrow runs so deep it can only be eased by the strong arm of all three Persons of the Trinity. And that’s exactly how God portrays himself in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. Listen to this, it says, “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, [may he] comfort your hearts, and stablish you.”
Well, right there, Christ himself tenderly comforts Peg, and the Father pours out his love on her, and all of it is gently administered through the Holy Spirit. No gloom can linger long by any bed where stands the great triune God. And that is so encouraging when you hurt. I share more about this in my brand-new book "Songs of Suffering." In it, I share stories like Peggy’s, and many more, and rich, deep insights for those who are hurting. And, of course, good, solid hymns that have ministered to me so deeply over the years. Visit joniradio.org to learn more about "Songs of Suffering." And one more thing. If you feel emotionally raw, if you are in a season of suffering, remember that all three Persons of the Trinity are for you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s something you can sing about and sleep on. Hey, it’s National Grief Awareness Week, a very good time to share my book "Songs of Suffering" with someone you know who’s struggling. Find out more about it at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends