There are no words to adequately express the emotion someone feels when a loved one dies, and the feeling of loss never completely goes. As someone said to me on Sunday, “the death of our late Queen has brought back all the feelings of loss and grief at my husband’s death”.
A man in Newcastle was quoted as saying "I felt it [the Queen's death] far more personally than I ever thought I would," and I think that has been the reaction of many people.
Many of us now will also feel dislocated and shaken up, in ways we can’t quite describe and perhaps hadn’t expected. We may not have known the Queen personally, but her death has affected people quite deeply, and there’s been a great deal of grief felt.
The pain of grief is real, but so is the peace that comes from God when we turn to him for strength.
And we also take heart and hope from the faith that we shared with our Monarch and that she shared with us, remembering that death is defeated and that God reigns above all.
We can find so much hope in Scripture through the gift of eternal life made possible through Jesus Christ. No matter what trials, temptations or pain we may suffer, we can always hold onto the hope God extends to us.
This was the hope in which the Queen lived and died; this is the hope offered to all who trust in Jesus.
“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) The good news is, that those who love the Lord will have an ever-present source of strength, love, and energy to keep going, no matter how difficult times may be.