God Is Faithful and Life Still Hurts: Holding Grief and Hope Together

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We often hear that grief and joy can coexist, but we rarely pause to notice how this truth shows up in everyday life. For me, it appeared in a beam of sunlight, a dusty floor, and a sink full of dishes, a simple moment that whispered a deeper reality about faith and pain.

Last week, I was standing in the kitchen, washing dishes. I stared at how the light from the window illuminated the dust on my hardwood floors. My mind began to wander as I realized I needed to clean my floors. I thought about how two things can be true at the same time. The light didn’t cancel the dust. It simply revealed it.

Two things were true in that moment: brightness and mess.
Two things are often true in our lives, too: God is faithful. And life can still hurt.

We often talk about how grief and joy can co-exist, but we don’t often talk about how God is faithful. And life can still hurt.

We find this tension even in Scripture. The psalmist writes, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord…yet my soul is downcast within me”  (Psalm 77:11, 42:5).

Remembering God’s goodness didn’t erase the ache. It existed alongside it.

The Coexistence of Faith and Hurt

I know God has been good to me. I can name moments of provision, rescue, and grace. His sweet Presence carried me through grief and trauma from the house fire. Like the Israelites who stacked stones of remembrance, I’ve built an altar of all that God has done through my son’s drug addiction. And I held onto the hem of his garment through the loss of both my parents (I write all about it in my book, Freedom to Feel. (paid link)

And still some days feel heavy and overwhelming.

There are days when the road feels longer than I thought it would. There are even days when I rub my head and ask God, “I thought we’ve already been around this mountain. We conquered it, but here we are again.” Scripture reminds us that faith doesn’t mean ease. In fact, Paul writes, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed” (2 Corinthians 4:8). Pressed but still standing.

Just like gratitude doesn’t cancel grief, faith doesn’t erase fatigue. Trust doesn’t mean we stop feeling the ache of what’s unfinished. Even Jesus understood this; in John 11, knowing resurrection was moments away, Jesus wept. He didn’t rush past sorrow to get to the miracle. He entered it.

In the garden, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Faith was present even in the pain.

Holding Faith While Life Hurts

Maybe faith looks less like forced positivity and more like honesty before God. Scripture tells us, “Pour out your hearts before Him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8). Not polished prayers. Not minimizing your hurts. Pour out.

So maybe we can remember what God has done and still ask, “How long, Lord?” Maybe we can even say, “I trust, You,” and still admit, “This hurts.”

Maybe standing at the kitchen sink, exhausted and unsure, is still holy ground.

If today finds you discouraged, worn down, or quietly wondering why the journey has been so hard, hear this truth: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” (Ps 34:18) Near. Not disappointed. Not demanding more strength. Near the brokenhearted.

God is right there in the middle of your pain, meeting you at the kitchen sink. Pause for a minute today, right where you are, and whisper both your gratitude and your grief to God. He is the God of both.

I created resources for those who are grieving in the middle of the mess. My most recent is a journal titled “Permission to Grieve.“

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