ZECHARIAH 12:12

“‘The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;’”

Mourning is a family affair. When a loved one passes, the whole family comes together to remember them, to share stories, to laugh and to cry. But in all my mourning experiences, it has also been my private mourning. I have mourned the death of a child, my dad, my mom, my brother and both my in-laws. Each death caused me to search my own heart to find the comfort from Christ.

Zechariah continues his thought on mourning in verse 12, but this time he turns to individual families. He looks at the house of David and also the house of Nathan. Who is this Nathan? 1 Chronicles 3:5 says, “These were the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel;” So, Nathan was David’s son, the brother of Solomon. You see, this mourning had to be individual, not just a national mourning, but a family mourning.

APPLICATION

Or role as believers in this grief process is to be real. We don’t need to hide our tears. Believe me, that is not possible with me. I am Mr. Waterworks, lol. Be transparent without being dramatic. Go to the Psalms. They are full of words to comfort during these times. Psalm 34:18 is one of those verses. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Here’s another one. Psalm 147:3 tells us, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” The point is this – His Word has the power to heal that gaping wound in your chest when your loved one is gone. Only Jesus can soothe you. No prescription, no counselor, no support group (and these are all fine and good things to tap into, if needed) will ultimately heal you. Only Jesus.

In all my grieving moments, nothing brought me more peace than to get alone with my God and talk to Him, knowing He was listening. God speaks to us if we will listen. His Spirit speaks to our spirit. I don’t understand how the heavenly cell service works. I just know it does. Spend some time listening today.

O Lord, I thank You that in my times of grief, You show up and take me into Your arms.