If anyone had a reason to cry, it was Job. In a single day he lost all of his livestock (his economic means), his servants, and his children. To top it off, he was afflicted with “loathsome sores” (2:7, ESV) from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Later on in the book, we discover he also suffered from fever, sleeplessness, nightmares, and failing vision. In the blink of an eye, Job had gone from riches to rags. As he sat there in the dust and ashes, scraping his skin with a piece of broken pottery, his grief was so great that his friends could barely recognize him.

Elizabeth Kübler-Ross defines the five stages of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Guilt is sometimes thrown into the mix, with the grieving person questioning what they could have done differently, or feeling shame for making the lives of those around them more difficult. Grief comes in unpredictable waves, with unexpected outbursts of sadness followed by hours of numbness, peppered with periods of relative normalcy. Caught in the wake of such a powerful concoction of emotions, just putting one foot in front of the other can often feel like a Herculean task.

Yet God is with us in the midst of our grief, because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4:15a). Jesus himself wept over the death of a close friend (John 11:35), and David tells us that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18). In his sermon on the mount, Jesus goes so far as to say, “blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). The truth is that our pain is not lost on God. In fact, he even keeps track of our sorrows, collecting our tears in a bottle (Ps. 56:8, ESV). And ultimately, Christians can take heart, because one day soon Jesus “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

Reflection Questions

1. What challenges you about Job’s story? What encourages you?

2. When have you or someone you know experienced a season of grief?

3. How might you care for a friend who was grieving? What do they need most?