Life is all about relationships. This is why loss is so painful.
We all need safe people in our lives. We need people we can trust. Our grieving hearts desperately need that support. For some of us, however, safe people can be hard to find.
I would like to share with you a chapter from Walking with God Through Grief: Devotions and Affirmations for Grieving Hearts that addresses this issue. I hope you find this devotional helpful and healing.
I NEED PEOPLE I CAN TRUST
I need people in my life who will just listen.
I need people who will see me.
I need safe people that I can trust.
We are created in the image of God. He designed us for relationships.
First and foremost, God made us for Himself. We were created for a relationship with Him. He also created us for relationships with one another.
Relationships are messy. Wonderful and difficult. Joy and pain. Delight and frustration. Connection and conflict. Love and separation.
Loss tends to magnify all our issues, including our relational challenges. Our hearts are already vulnerable. Some of us have been hurt often and deeply enough that our hearts are suspicious of those around us.
With good reason, we need to guard our hearts.
Yet, we need relationships. Good relationships. Healing and healthy relationships.
We need safe people in our lives. We need trustworthy people who will walk with us through this dark valley.
I think of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:33:
“But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Before this verse, Jesus has been talking about the futility of worry. We’re concerned about many things. Jesus mentions the basics of life—food, drink, and clothing. We chase after these things as if they are our life.
Jesus encourages us to trust God and put Him first. He will provide what we need (but not necessarily what we might want). I believe this goes for our relationships too. God puts people in our lives. They have the opportunity to love us. He puts us in the lives of others. We get the opportunity to love them.
We all need safe, trustworthy people in our lives.
Do you have safe people in your life – people whom God uses to help you heal and grow?
If not, ask God to provide them for you. You may not have met them yet, but they’re out there. God knows who they are.
And above all, we can remind ourselves that our first and foremost relationship is with God Himself. As we place Him first, His promise to us is that He will provide all we need.
He is your Creator, Savior, Help, and Healer. He goes before you. He is with you today.
“But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
(Matthew 6:33, NIV)
Heavenly Father, I accept by faith that You made me for
Yourself – to know You, trust You, and walk with You.
Empower me to place You first in my
life – Your rightful place.
In Your wisdom, I ask You to bring safe people into my life.
I yield myself to You. I trust You will
meet all my needs today.
In Jesus’ name…
Affirmation: With God’s help, I will seek healthy relationships with safe people who love and accept me as I am.
The above is an excerpt from Walking with God Through Grief, which is part of the God and Grief Series.
Question: Do you have people you can share with – people that you can trust? Please feel free to share using the comment section below.
