Austin's Blog

When we face the unimaginable loss of a child, our world is shattered in ways we never thought possible. The weight of grief feels too heavy to bear, and in those moments, it seems impossible to think that mercy can coexist with such overwhelming pain. How could there be anything good in the agony of burying your child? How can God possibly bring good from something so devastating?

Yet, even in the midst of this grief, God offers mercies — though they are often invisible at first, hidden beneath the weight of our sorrow. In the darkest trials, especially in the sorrow of child loss, God’s mercy can seem distant, almost imperceptible. But it’s in these times that Jesus draws near in ways we may never have experienced otherwise.

Randy Alcorn reflects on this mystery when he writes, “Shouldn’t we suppose that many of our most painful ordeals will look quite different a million years from now, as we recall them on the New Earth? What if one day we discover that God has wasted nothing in our life on Earth? What if we see that every agony was part of giving birth to an eternal joy?” These words capture a profound truth: God wastes nothing. In our brokenness, in the heartache of losing a child, He is still at work — sowing seeds of eternal joy that we may not understand on this side of heaven.

It may seem unfathomable, but we are invited to trust in the character of a God who sees the end from the beginning, who promises that no tear is shed in vain. Through Jesus, we are not left to face our sorrow alone. He entered into human suffering, absorbing our pain and grief, so that one day we can enter eternal joy.

“Jesus sat amidst all the joy sipping the coming sorrow,” writes Edmund Clowney, “so that you and I today can sit amidst all this world’s sorrow, sipping the coming joy.” In His great mercy, Jesus took on the full weight of sin and death, and because of this, we can endure the greatest sorrows knowing that joy is coming. Even when we cannot see it, His mercy is working in our hearts, carrying us when we can’t walk on our own.

J.R. Miller speaks to this mercy hidden in our sorrows: “Without them we would miss the sweetest joys, the divinest revealing, and the deepest experiences of life. Afflictions are opportunities. They come to us bearing gifts. If we can accept them—they leave in our hand heavenly treasures.” The loss of a child is not something we would ever choose, nor can we fully grasp how such a tragedy can result in anything good. Yet, God invites us to trust Him — to believe that even in this, He is bringing forth treasures that will one day be revealed in glory.

To feel the mercies in our pain does not mean that we diminish the depth of our grief. It’s not about pretending everything is okay or that the loss doesn’t still hurt. It’s about acknowledging that God’s grace is present in ways we may not fully see until eternity. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus walks with us, offering us glimpses of His mercy along the way.

When we are surrounded by sorrow, it is only through Jesus that we can recognize those mercies — those moments of grace, of love, and of comfort that remind us God is still near. In our darkest hours, His mercy is our hope. We may not understand how good can come from the tragedy of losing a child, but we hold onto the promise that He will redeem every tear, and that one day, we will sit with Him in eternal joy, fully seeing the goodness He has worked in the midst of our deepest pain.

Mercy may not look the way we expect, but through Jesus, we are given the strength to endure, the comfort to keep going, and the hope of a joy that is yet to come.