Trusting God with a Sick Child 3: Grief

Day 3 of A Mother’s Perspective: Trusting God With a Sick Child

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7, NKJV).”

Everyone handles grief differently, and likewise, everyone is

comforted differently. But we’ve all been there: experiencing something that brings us to our knees, crying out to God for help. Feeling completely helpless, desperate for Him to whisper in our ear that everything will be alright.

I have never been so scared, so emotional, or so lonely as the moments when I have been alone in the hospital with our sick daughter. Cradling her in my arms as we listen to monitors beeping, just waiting for the next visit from the nurses to check her vitals.

Riding with her on the hospital bed as we head to another test. Checking her chart on my phone to see if there have been any improvements in her labs. Desperately trying to keep it together as I watch her get poked over and over. Finding myself sobbing uncontrollably in the shower I had to share with other families on the floor. My grief was real. But so was my Comforter. In those moments, I would pray constantly—for healing, for answers, for comfort, for miracles, for peace.

The Bible tells us that the peace of God “surpasses all understanding”. There is a peace and a comfort that only God can

provide in moments of deep grief. Moments when we should be terrified, overwhelmed, and anxious, but somehow an unexplainable peace can overshadow all those feelings. 

I can’t help but think of Job, and the countless moments of grief that he endured. He lost his wealth, his children, and his health, yet he continued to trust God to pull him through. Job had moments of bitterness, anger, confusion, and sorrow. Moments when he couldn’t understand why such horrible things were happening to him. But still he trusted God. “I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God (Job 19:25-26, NKJV).” 

It’s natural to have feelings of resentment, guilt, anguish, and frustration when you are going through difficult times in your life. Most of the time the purpose for the suffering isn’t clear right away, and perhaps, like Job, it never really becomes clear. We may not even understand the reasons for our suffering until we are in heaven. But one thing we can know for sure is that in the moments when we feel we are at our lowest, God is still there. Still listening, still loving, still taking all our cares upon Himself. It is in these moments where we need to surrender it all to Him, to seek that peace that passes all understanding. Job’s wife and his friends had different responses to Job’s grief, and they really couldn’t help him. 

You may feel alone in how to handle your grief, thinking that no one understands what you are going through. But hold fast to the promises from God. When the situation is completely out of our control, when we are desperately trying to hang on, when everything feels like it’s falling apart—God can still provide us with peace.

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