DEALING WITH GRIEF
“Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD…For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Therefore, Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Job 1.20-21; 3.25; 14.1
WELCOME: the saying is true that a casket is just a wooden box not then, your loved one is boxed therein.
Grief is experienced as every day goes by. It is something that humanity can resist. Life is fashioned in a way that while one is happy this moment, the tendency to be thrown into the pull of grief is high.
At some time almost all of us see loved ones die and experience the pain of grief. Billy Graham said. “When death separates us from someone we love, there is a time when we think no one has suffered as we have”.
In her book “Let Me Grieve but Not Forever”, Verdell Davis stated that “storms come in many forms. Some, indeed, come with no warning. Some we see brewing and know it is only a matter of time. The storm could be the death of a loved one, loss of health, home, belongings, finances, and security, all taken away”.
Grief is a rogue wind that comes without a second thought. Grief has gripped people since human existence; when Cain murdered Abel in Genesis 4, not only did Cain realized his crime, but its knowledge grieved him greatly. God shared in this grief thus, the curse upon Cain (Genesis 4.10-15).
WHAT IS GRIEF?
It is an experience of deprivation and anxiety that can show itself in one’s behavior, emotions, thinking, physiology, interpersonal relationships, and spirituality.
CAUSES OF GRIEF
Grief is not limited to the loss of a loved one through death. Any loss can bring grief! This includes:
Divorce
Retirement from a job
Departure of a loving neighborhood
Going to and graduating from college
Loss of youthful appearances
Rejection from the society
Unforeseen calamity etc.
Even though grief can have a variety of causes, most often it is associated with the loss of a loved one. This grieving is not easy. We may try to soften the trauma by trying to beautify the gravesite, with numerous roses around, but we cannot make grieving into something beautiful.
However, when a Christian is faced with the reality of grieve, our comfort comes from the words spoken by Christ to John in Revelation 14.13 and the encouragement found in 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18.
Eventually, everybody dies, but in the meantime most of us will grieve at least periodically. Therefore, in our losses, God expects that we grieve as people who have hope; the hope of eternal life. While grief is devastating, we are to remain calm in every storms life throws at us.
Prayers:
Lord, none of us would choose grief over joy and peace.
We desire to be strong for You, our loved ones, and self.
But it is out of will that we control what you have fixed before time began.
But Lord, no matter how draining we may look due to our losses, help us to always listen to your comforting words in our storms. To feel your love and presence in our darkest time.
Hold us still for we pray through Christ, amen.
