The day hasn’t yet come when God will “wipe away every tear.” But it will come. In the meantime, God can give us hope for a future where He will heal all our hurts and where our laughter and joy will be as unending as His. 

What follows is an edited version of an email I sent to a friend who faced a heartbreaking situation involving a family member. I’m sharing it because it can apply to any faithful, godly person dealing with tragic events caused by a child’s, spouse’s, or parent’s bad choices. If that’s you, may our Heavenly Father use these words to encourage, strengthen, and comfort you.

When hearing about painful family situations that many of God’s people face, words fail me, so let me share some things from His Word, which will never fail and which will not return to God empty without accomplishing His purpose (see Isaiah 55:11).

God knows what it’s like to pour His heart into beloved people and not see lasting change. He calls Israel His bride and then His vineyard and says in Isaiah 5, “What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?”

He doesn’t simply understand your broken heart because He knows everything; He understands because His heart has also been broken. Jesus is the God-man, tested in every way we are (Hebrews 4:15), including heartbreak. He wept over the people He loved, that same Jerusalem:

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:41-44)

Your faithfulness and love and prayers for your family member have not been unnoticed by the eyes of Heaven. Jesus said, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42). Those who have faithfully loved and prayed for their family members have done far more than give them a cup of cold water. They have given their hearts.

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