Who are you grieving? Or maybe a better question: what are you grieving?
Most of us are grieving someone or something. If we’re not grieving, we’ve either not had an encounter with grief YET, or we’ve pushed it so far down that it’s there, just barely out of sight, tucked away, in a dark corner, that we don’t visit because it’s too heavy.
Over the last two years, I know many of us have grieved someone or something. There’s been so much heaviness: Loss of life, loss of rights and privileges, loss of relationships and friendships, and loss of opportunity. There’s been so much illness and bitterness in our nation. At times, it feels like turning on the news is just too much for me. Too much fighting, or slapping, too much “you’re wrong, I’m right,” too much get your vaccine or don’t. You get my point. There’s been A LOT of dissension. Couple all of that with being more isolated than ever as a society, and you can see there’s a lot of tension. So whether you’re grieving a death, an illness, a person, a relationship, political stuff, the war, Covid, a missed opportunity, a life change, financial issues, your own or someone else’s addictions or behaviors, or anything not mentioned, I’m inviting you to come on a journey with me. Let’s explore that grief and dig into it. And whatever your faith rests in, before you count me out, let’s see what Scripture tells us about grief.
We see grief when we look at Jesus alone, not to mention all the times it’s mentioned throughout Scripture. The entire Bible is based on grief: God’s grief for His people who abandoned Him for their own wants and desires. Yet, it’s a firsthand account that shows us how God used His Love to bring redemption to that grief. Although there are many examples in Scripture, I’m going to focus on these three over the next few weeks:
1. Jesus grieved His nearing death in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38). He even asked God to stop what was about to happen (Matthew 26:39).
2. Jesus’ disciples, the people he was the closest with, grieved Jesus and even their own actions and failures (Matthew 26:75).
3. God grieved our love for darkness, and because of this, He sent His One and Only Son to die for us to live freely (John 3:16-19).
Through these examples, I’m going to encourage you to dive a little deeper into your own grief. To discover it. To explore it. To see what God has planned for it. From Scripture, we know that nothing is without purpose and “ALL things work for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28). There is hope in that. There’s also hope in the fact that we’re still serving the same God that brought redemption to the world, on behalf of grief, through love. If He can do that, He can bring redemption to you for whatever or whoever you’re grieving.
I will post here and on my website: www.sanctifiedbylove.com. If you feel led and want to grow from ashes, let’s do this together. I’d love to know if you’re reading along.
“I am weary from grief; strengthen me through Your word.”
Psalms 119:28 HCSB
