When Captain Dave Lyon was killed in Afghanistan five years ago, his wife, Dana—who was also deployed at the time—quoted a portion of this verse from the book of Job. I was stirred by her choice. She didn’t dismiss the pain with a trite phrase like, “These things happen.” Nor did she let her despair overwhelm her hope. She took these blessed words from Scripture and found hope amidst her deep grief.

Dana’s response—like Job’s response to his grief—is instructive. How do you handle grief? Do you bury it away, or find relief in a bottle? Or do you dwell in the darkness of depression, never reaching out for help and hope?

A healthy heart reflects grief in the form of tears and prayers. It recognizes the tragedy of the fall of mankind and the effects of sin for each of us today. It also recognizes that death will be swallowed up by life, sin will be no more, and every tear will be wiped from our eyes. We handle grief by handing our hearts to our gracious God and Savior who will never, never let us go.