Shelter From The Storm

The LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Do you remember the moment when you realized you’d found your first best friend? The boy who sat across from you at lunch collected baseball cards just like you did. The group of girls who played on the monkey bars at recess invited you to hang upside down with them. Your quiet lab partner in college casually dropped a song lyric over a dissection project, and you knew you’d found a connection.

We rejoice to discover friends who think like us and enjoy the same things we do. These relationships, rooted in common interests and values, sustain us through life’s shifts. Many of us struggle after the death of a loved one to maintain these connections, however. Loss creates a divide that many relationships can’t seem to span. Friends who were close may fade with time, and we’re left wondering if anybody understands what it’s like to live with grief like we do. We long for deep understanding, unconditional solidarity, and compassionate care.

What a surprising comfort we find in Genesis 6 as we see God survey the world he has made. Following their own desires, God’s beloved creations say to their Maker in word and deed, “You’re not my best friend anymore.” These creatures God formed in love have rejected him, and his heart tears in two. God grieves. If you’ve wondered if you could find a friend who understands your sadness in all of its complexity, including the strained relationships after loss, you find him here.

Genesis 6 offers even more comfort, though. God enjoys companionship with Noah, a righteous man whose heart is aligned with his, and God preserves that friendship. Safe in an ark for forty days and forty nights, Noah floats above death and destruction toward a new life. God hides him away and protects him. God reveals to Noah, and to us, his solidarity in grief and strength in loss—divine shelter in the storm.

In the same way, God invites us into the shelter of his presence. Like that floating boat, God is our ark. He preserves us so that the sorrows of life don’t wash us away. Today, hurry to God, your ark. Find refuge in his love and comfort in knowing that he truly understands.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

A Prayer: Heavenly Father, my friendships have always brought me solace, but in my grief I need something more today. I grieve the friends who have left me alone in my loss. I grieve the relationships that used to bring me joy. I take comfort that you understand and grieve beside me. Remind me this day to seek shelter in your love. Hide me in Jesus. Enclose me in your care and preserve me so that grief doesn’t overwhelm me. I trust in you, my God. Amen.

An Activity for Today: When friendships feel thin, it can be helpful to count our blessings. On the lines below make a list of the friends who have stuck beside you since your person died. Add to your list new relationships that have been born from your grief—whether it’s a person at your church who has also experienced loss, a friendly hospice nurse who served your family, or your electrician who said he’d do the job for free when he heard you were grieving.

Take a moment to thank God for these people in your life who know your sorrows and stand with you in them. Then take it a step further. Text two or three of the folks on your list and let them know you love them. God has placed each of these people in your life as tangible reminders of his presence with you. Thank these friends for being the hands and feet of Jesus!

A Song to Encourage Your Heart: “Jesus Lover of My Soul” by Tasha Cobbs Leonard (featuring The Walls Group)