在2023年2月，土耳其發生毀滅性地震之後，新聞報導發布了一張令人心碎的照片：一位父親坐在廢墟中，握著從瓦礫堆裡伸出的一隻手，那是他女兒的手。我們看到水泥石塊壓在他女兒睡覺的床墊上，只露出床墊的邊緣，也看到這位父親正握著他女兒毫無生命氣息的手。他神情沮喪，悲痛欲絕。

這位父親哀戚的面容，讓我聯想到天父的憂傷。創世記告訴我們，上帝因祂創造的一切被罪惡破壞而感到悲痛：「耶和華……心中憂傷」（6章6節）。先知以賽亞在談到那位將臨的彌賽亞時，說：「祂……忍受痛苦悲傷，飽歷人間憂患」（以賽亞書53章3節，新普及譯本）。上帝為我們憂傷，也與我們同憂傷，祂坐在我們生活廢墟的邊緣，向我們伸出援手。上帝說﹕「我耶和華你的上帝必攙扶你的右手。」（41章13節）

無論你目前正面臨怎樣的困境或災難，是遭遇不幸的事件、失去了摯愛的人，或者正在承受自己犯罪的後果，你要知道上帝與你一同哀傷。無論是怎樣的地震搖撼了你的生活，你都會看見上帝正向你伸出援手。無論你目前因何故悲傷，你都會聽見這位慈愛的上帝對你說﹕「不要害怕！我必幫助你。」（13節）

In the aftermath of Turkey’s devastating earthquake in February 2023, a haunting photo came across newswires: a father sitting amid ruins holding a hand extending from the rubble—the hand of his daughter. We see the edge of the mattress where his daughter had been sleeping, and we see her lifeless fingers that he now holds. His face is grim; his grief is profound.

In this father’s gritted face, I see a semblance of our own heavenly Father. Genesis tells us that God was grieved by the devastation of sin in His creation: “It broke his heart” (6:6 nlt). Isaiah, speaking of the future Messiah, says, “He was . . . a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (53:3 nlt). God grieves for us, and with us, and sits at the edge of the rubble of our lives, reaching for us: “I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand” (41:13).

Whatever devastation you currently face—a tragic circumstance, the loss of a dear one, or maybe even the effects of your own sin—know that God grieves with you. Whatever earthquake has shaken your life, see that God is reaching for your hand. Whatever your current sorrow, hear the God of love saying to you, “Do not fear; I will help you” (v. 13).