What do you do when your heart is broken and you don’t feel like you have anyone to share it with? Sometimes the sadness gets you down. We’re not all blessed with those people in our lives we can lean on to be there for us the way we need them.
My husband was my friend I could trust with the hard stuff. Most people don’t have the patience or aren’t willing to stop and listen or just be a shoulder to cry on. They either want to fix it and forget it… or they accuse, belittle, dismiss, or condemn the feelings.
Loneliness can cause us to feel sad or depressed. Loneliness is a tough role to play. Some people expect God to step in and do something. If you were to ask them what they want God to do, they usually say, “I don’t know… something!” They say God just doesn’t answer their prayers.
I’ve learned God usually doesn’t answer my prayers the way I expect. It’s easy to say a prayer and ask for something. When we ask Him, there is a part of us that thinks we know the best way for God to answer. Most of the time we tend to ask for a solution we already figured out to solve our problem. This may or may not be the case.
God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He can see the big picture. He sees our heart and reads our motivation and intention… even when it has seemingly little to do with the words we speak based on our limited perception. He knows what we really need.
As high as the heavens are above the earth, so My ways and My thoughts are higher than yours. Isaiah 55: 9
Who could ever wrap their minds around the riches of God, the depth of His wisdom, and the marvel of His perfect knowledge? Who could ever explain the wonder of His decisions or search out the mysterious way He carries out His plans? For who has discovered how the Lord thinks or is wise enough to be the one to advise Him in his plans? Romans 11: 33-34
I’ve observed God works very different than most people expect. It’s usually very different from the way people think He should or, in most cases, think they want Him to. God probably has a higher purpose He wants to accomplish in our lives. Most of us have no idea God cares about us this much. As long as we keep searching and praying, I know God will help and answer.
In John 11 we read the story of Lazarus. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was very sick. They asked Him to come and heal their brother. They were friends of Jesus and were sure He would come immediately to save His friend.
When Jesus got the message, He waited where He was two more days before going to Lazarus. As a result, Lazarus died, and he was in the grave four days by time Jesus got there. Jesus waited on purpose. It didn’t make sense from a human standpoint.
When Jesus finally got there, both Martha and Mary said if He had only come sooner their brother would have lived. They tried everything they knew to do to save Lazarus. They prayed and they trusted Jesus would come. When Lazarus died, their hope died with him.
The reason Jesus waited was because this made it possible for Mary, Martha, Lazarus and some of the other people there to see the Glory of God. All human effort must be exhausted first, and then we see the Glory of God. Jesus called a dead man, Lazarus, back to life. This miracle helped everyone who saw it, and now everyone who hears about it, believe there is a God and He is good.
God still wants to show us His Glory today. When we are down and sad, when our hope is barely hanging on by a thread, He shows up. When He comes through for us, there is no way we can take the credit or explain it away as normal or expected. There is no room for pride. We will thank and praise God with a sincere heart. This gift transforms us and builds our faith and our trust in our very good God.
Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time. May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately you’ve had to put up with the grief of many trials. But these only reveal the sterling core of your faith, which is far more valuable than gold that perishes, for even gold is refined by fire. Your authentic faith will result in even more praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One is revealed. 1 Peter 1: 5-7
When you say a prayer tonight, ask God to raise the Lazarus in your life. By that I mean ask God to do the thing you have hanging in front of you that looks impossible. The thing that you’ve exhausted all your energy on trying to fix, or launch, or complete that proved to be insurmountable or unattainable. If you’re feeling the loneliness of widowhood, ask God to provide a solution.
Jesus responded, “What appears humanly impossible is more than possible with God. For God can do what man cannot.” Luke 18: 27
You need to be in harmony with God and His Word to move mountains. This harmony perfects the force of faith so it can do what it was designed by God to do… move impossible things to change your life for the better. According to Christ, this doesn’t happen when your head is fighting with your heart. Align yourself with God’s Word. Activate your faith. Experience the breakthrough miracle you need to keep going and to learn to thrive again.
May God, our true Father, release upon our lives the riches of His kind favor and heavenly peace through the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. Hear our prayers Lord. Help us activate our faith and stand in agreement with You. We know nothing is impossible with You. Take our loneliness and surround us with the people You know will support us and enrich our lives to Your Glory. Let us be a blessing and support for them in their needs. Thank You. Help us walk in the destiny You ordained for us to Your glory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
About Teri Miner
Teri’s dance with grief actually began over five years before she watched her beloved husband of almost 37 years take his last breath and enter Heaven’s door on October 6, 2019. A terminal degenerative neurological disease steadily and increasingly attacked nearly every major system of his body and transformed him from a vibrant, brilliant, strong and caring man to a bedfast invalid at the end. She was devoted to caring for him and doing her best to make the most of every minute they had left, to love him and pray for a miracle.
She thought she knew what her future held, but she had no idea. Losing him was the first time she experienced a close and personal loss. He was the love of her life. The onslaught of the pandemic with its reign of fear-mongering, forced isolation and separation entering the scene and disrupting or destroying whatever sense of “normal” that remained, just added insult to injury.
Her faith in God is the sustaining force keeping her fighting spirit to find and share hope in a bright future. Her heart’s desire is to walk beside her fellow widows toward a path of promise and healing. She wants to offer encouragement and hope so others can find the strength to take that next breath or next step. She recently started her own blog, https://widowwhispers.blogspot.com/, to share with other widows not only the struggles and hardships of widowhood, but the triumphs. Her hope is found in leaning on the Lord Jesus to enjoy a God inspired future anchored in expectation He will bring us to a fulfilling and meaningful life.