Episode 12 – Grief: God of All Comfort

Intro – grief patch story from:

https://heidigoehmann.com/blog/loss-and-grief-grief-without-shame

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (ESV)

Psalm 10:14 (NIV)

God is thoughtful about our grief and holds our grief with us.

So we are: thoughtful about grief for one another, and we help one another hold the grief and the weight of that grief

Psalm 34:17-18 (NIV)

God of All Comfort = God of all losses

Exercise: write down all the losses that you've encountered personally, or those you see around them, then write the word All or God or Jesus or a favorite Bible verse over it

We have both – honor the losses and embrace the comfort

God isn't far off – He is big, but also personal

Isaiah 53:3-4

Jesus encountered his own grief and entered into other people's grief

Jesus took on the judgment of grief as well

Biblical narratives of loss:

Mary, Martha, Lazarus – loss of loved one, the experience of illness

Mary and John and the crucifixion – comfort in one another, finding a community to morn with

Joseph – loss of family, loss of freedom, loss of dreams, loss of promises, restoration

David – loss of men in battle, loss of an infant, loss of a son to betrayal

Solomon – Ecclesiastes, loss of time and opportunity, sense of hopelessness but comfort

Ruth and Naomi – widowhood, loss of livelihood, loss through moving

What loss narratives have given you comfort in Scripture?

Luke 7:11-17 (NIV)