Good Grief - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2025

Bible in a Year : 1 Samuel 17-18, Luke 11:1-28

As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.
2 Kings 2:2

Today's Scripture & Insight : 2 Kings 2:7-14

A man named Hidesabur? Ueno taught at Tokyo’s Imperial University in the 1920s. Every afternoon, he returned on the 3:00 p.m. train to find his dog, Hachiko, waiting for him. One day Professor Ueno suffered a stroke during class and died. When he didn’t get off the afternoon train, Hachiko lingered a while then went home. The dog returned the next day at 3:00, and the next day, and the day after that, for ten years. Hachiko’s loyalty touched the hearts of many people who came to sit with him.

Elisha was similarly committed to his master, Elijah. On the day Elisha knew he would lose him, Elisha refused to let him out of his sight. Then a whirlwind whisked Elijah to heaven. Elisha choked out what he saw: “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 2:12). He picked up Elijah’s cloak, the symbol of the prophet’s power that had parted the Jordan moments earlier (v. 8), and asked, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” (v. 14). He struck the water, which parted as it had for his master. What a bittersweet day!

Have you lost someone you love? No words can do justice to your pain. Every sob releases memories of the love you shared. You hurt deeply because you loved deeply. How bittersweet! Thank God for this beloved person, and for your capacity to love. Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak. What might you do?

By: Mike Wittmer

Reflect & Pray
What tangible sign or ritual honours the memory of your loved one? How does Jesus help to carry your burden?

Dear Father, thank You for giving me people to love.