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**1 Samuel 4:20** — *"As she was dying, the women attending to her said, 'Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!' But she did not respond or pay any heed."*
Phinehas's wife had just delivered a son — news that, on any other day, would have flooded her with joy. But the ark of God had been captured. Her husband and father-in-law were dead. She named the child *Ichabod* — "the glory has departed" — and slipped away in grief.
The women offered comfort that was true. A living son. A future. Yet her soul had already fixed itself on what was lost, and no good news could reach her there.
Grief can do this. It narrows our sight until the mercy standing right before us goes unseen.
Scripture reminds us that God's glory does not depart as permanently as despair insists — and the mercy we cannot yet receive is still, by grace, being held out to us.
Phinehas's wife had just delivered a son — news that, on any other day, would have flooded her with joy. But the ark of God had been captured. Her husband and father-in-law were dead. She named the child *Ichabod* — "the glory has departed" — and slipped away in grief.
The women offered comfort that was true. A living son. A future. Yet her soul had already fixed itself on what was lost, and no good news could reach her there.
Grief can do this. It narrows our sight until the mercy standing right before us goes unseen.
Scripture reminds us that God's glory does not depart as permanently as despair insists — and the mercy we cannot yet receive is still, by grace, being held out to us.