| You're Not Walking Alone © Betty Sue Eaton |
There is an old spiritual that goes something like this:
"You gotta walk that lonesome valley;
You gotta go there by yourself;
Nobody here can go there with you;
You gotta go there by yourself."
Of course, that spiritual is referring to the hard times experienced by laborers during
early times in our history when cotton and other crops were grown and harvested by
slaves. They were thousands of miles across an ocean from their homes with no hope
of ever returning there. Their hearts were forever broken and life was forever
hopeless. Theirs was a daily struggle to keep body and soul together and so were
born those spirituals out of their hopelessness as a prayer for salvation and better
times.
The words of that age old song are all too true. And in a more modern application, we
all must walk through that valley of death physically alone; but in fact, we are NOT
alone on that walk. God is with you, for you, by your side to guide you through an
experience that no one has ever returned from to tell us about. Only one man ever
came back and that was Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who died for us so we would
not have to walk through that valley alone.
When we lose a loved one in death, or for that matter, any reason at all, we feel as
though we are totally alone in our grief and no one else has ever experienced a grief
as profound as ours. To you, that is true; but in fact, every one alive has lost someone
in death and grieves for him or her, be it mate, parent, grandparent, child or dear
friend; everyone loses someone and that loss is inevitable.
We cannot escape death. To do so, we would have to be immortal and only one living
person has ever laid claim to that lofty achievement: Jesus Christ through the
omnipotent love of his Father, the living God. In His immortality, Jesus lives in us, for
us, with us every day of our lives here on earth and so He goes with us into that great
anticipated world of Heaven.
While we are here on earth and suffering the abysmal loneliness of loss of a dear one,
all we need do is call out the name of Jesus for comfort and He will be there. In the
dark of night, in the bright day, in the line at the grocery market, in the doctor's office,
wherever we are and whenever we cry out to Him, He will answer us there. He is no
respecter of place to minister to a hurting soul and reach out to bring comfort. And
further His comfort and love are endless, ever timeless and all encompassing.
We may tire in our grieving and wish it gone or better yet, never to have happened,
but God's love and Jesus presence are never tiring, never ceasing and never for any
other purpose than that He loves you as one of His children.
While the old spiritual tells us that eventually we must face death in mortal flesh, God
promises us help and comfort as told in Psalms 23 when David cried out to the Lord in
his song:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . .Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me."
Those words were true for David and they are still as true for us today. Time has not,
nor ever will, diminish the power of that promise for those who call out for help in times
of trouble and heartache.
So as you grieve, remember the words to that old spiritual, but change them just a bit:
"You gotta walk that lonesome valley;
But you don't have to go there by yourself;
For Jesus Christ will go there with you;
You don't have to go there by yourself."
Nothing else can bring you peace of mind as those words can and will.
"You gotta walk that lonesome valley;
You gotta go there by yourself;
Nobody here can go there with you;
You gotta go there by yourself."
Of course, that spiritual is referring to the hard times experienced by laborers during
early times in our history when cotton and other crops were grown and harvested by
slaves. They were thousands of miles across an ocean from their homes with no hope
of ever returning there. Their hearts were forever broken and life was forever
hopeless. Theirs was a daily struggle to keep body and soul together and so were
born those spirituals out of their hopelessness as a prayer for salvation and better
times.
The words of that age old song are all too true. And in a more modern application, we
all must walk through that valley of death physically alone; but in fact, we are NOT
alone on that walk. God is with you, for you, by your side to guide you through an
experience that no one has ever returned from to tell us about. Only one man ever
came back and that was Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who died for us so we would
not have to walk through that valley alone.
When we lose a loved one in death, or for that matter, any reason at all, we feel as
though we are totally alone in our grief and no one else has ever experienced a grief
as profound as ours. To you, that is true; but in fact, every one alive has lost someone
in death and grieves for him or her, be it mate, parent, grandparent, child or dear
friend; everyone loses someone and that loss is inevitable.
We cannot escape death. To do so, we would have to be immortal and only one living
person has ever laid claim to that lofty achievement: Jesus Christ through the
omnipotent love of his Father, the living God. In His immortality, Jesus lives in us, for
us, with us every day of our lives here on earth and so He goes with us into that great
anticipated world of Heaven.
While we are here on earth and suffering the abysmal loneliness of loss of a dear one,
all we need do is call out the name of Jesus for comfort and He will be there. In the
dark of night, in the bright day, in the line at the grocery market, in the doctor's office,
wherever we are and whenever we cry out to Him, He will answer us there. He is no
respecter of place to minister to a hurting soul and reach out to bring comfort. And
further His comfort and love are endless, ever timeless and all encompassing.
We may tire in our grieving and wish it gone or better yet, never to have happened,
but God's love and Jesus presence are never tiring, never ceasing and never for any
other purpose than that He loves you as one of His children.
While the old spiritual tells us that eventually we must face death in mortal flesh, God
promises us help and comfort as told in Psalms 23 when David cried out to the Lord in
his song:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . .Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me."
Those words were true for David and they are still as true for us today. Time has not,
nor ever will, diminish the power of that promise for those who call out for help in times
of trouble and heartache.
So as you grieve, remember the words to that old spiritual, but change them just a bit:
"You gotta walk that lonesome valley;
But you don't have to go there by yourself;
For Jesus Christ will go there with you;
You don't have to go there by yourself."
Nothing else can bring you peace of mind as those words can and will.
| A Christian Grief Ministry |
Life After Loss |