Dealing with the death of a loved one, whether you are prepared for it or not, can be very difficult. It’s natural to experience sadness over the separation. But be aware that Satan will try to get you to stay in a place of sadness—a place where sorrow and grief will attempt to press in on you.

Contrary to popular belief, grief and sorrow don’t come to help you. They come to hurt you. They’re deceivers sent for one purpose—to choke the Word of God out of your heart. Don’t let this happen. Jesus has already borne your griefs and sorrows on the cross so you wouldn’t have to (Isaiah 53:4).

As a believer you have been redeemed from the curse of grief and sorrow by the blood of Jesus. Don’t let this situation rob you of what you know about God’s love and His faithfulness to His Word. Resist and continue to resist the devil just like Jesus did—with the Word of God coming out of your mouth as a weapon directed at the devil. As Psalm 119:50 says, “Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.”

Never forget, Jesus knows exactly what you are going through, and He is right there with you. He said in John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Even in difficult times we can rejoice in the fact that we serve the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).

The Word of God says to comfort one another with these words:

“For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).

We encourage you to cast all your cares over on the Lord. He loves you and is watching over you with great affection.