Present in Grief
Where might you need to recognize or make room for God’s presence in your own experiences of grief or pain, trusting that even there, God is gently dwelling with you?
Revelation 21:3-4
I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. YHWH will dwell with them, and they will be God’s peoples. The Most High will be with them as their God. YHWH will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
This beautiful vision in Revelation reminds us that God is not distant from our grief but present within it.
God chooses to dwell with us—not in a place untouched by sorrow, but right in the midst of our tears, pain, and loss. The promise that God will wipe away every tear speaks tenderly to the nearness of the Divine in our suffering. Grief is not a space we must navigate alone; it is a place where God abides with compassion and care.
This passage also points to hope—not a denial of pain, but the assurance that mourning and death will not have the final word. In our deepest losses, God draws close, offering comfort and presence even as we wait for the day when sorrow will end. This dwelling-with-us God transforms grief into a place of holy encounter and quiet, enduring hope.
Where might you need to recognize or make room for God’s presence in your own experiences of grief or pain, trusting that even there, God is gently dwelling with you?
–Pepa Paniagua