There are some who are coming into this new year without someone they had last year. Death and disease know no holidays. But when you belong to God, all the sadness and pain will work together for your benefit, and even the benefit of others.
In Romans 8:28-32, we see that if we love God He will work things together for our good. But not just some things, all things. God has His good purpose in mind. In these verses we see that God knew us before we knew Him, and He loved us at that time. We see that He has it in mind for us to be more like Jesus. We see that He called us, and because of this calling we are justified and glorified. Then we come to one of our favorite verses: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And just a little further we are reminded that to save us God didn’t spare His own Son, and He will also together with His Son freely give to us!
Now while these words are important and you need to know them, words themselves are not always comforting. While I hope they do comfort you, I also realize that if you are going through loss in the New Year you will need your friends around you. You will need support even more than you need words. Let your friends gather around you and help.
If you know someone who is going through this pain, you might need to comfort them with your presence first. Be there for them first. Listen to them first. When the appropriate time comes, and you can ask God to show that to you, you can use words.