Good Grief: Bringing Us to God

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18

Grief.

An inescapable experience that we will all face countless times in our lives.

Grief is not always the emotional result of a physical death, but it does often accompany deeply profound loss and other occurrences that feel like death.

The loss of
family.
friends.
love,
job.
Independence, autonomy, agency.
relationships.
acceptance & belonging.
health.
a child.
trust & safety.
fertility.
a spouse.
A dream.
hope.


Even as we weep and our tears are watering the soil of lament,
beautiful fruit will still come from it.
There will be a bounty even in the valley
as
God calls us to worship while weeping;
to grieve while giving thanks.

They can and MUST coexist if we are to experience not just what it means to be fully human, but what it means to FEEL fully human.
They can and MUST exist if we are to experience what it truly means to be in relationship and one with the triune God.

But even when we grieve, we don’t do so without hope…

God doesn’t always give us answers, but He always gives us hope with compassion.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13


The Scriptures have much to say about grief and lament:

“A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.
Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call answer me quickly.”
Psalm 102:1-2

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!”
Psalm 130:1

“My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?”
Psalm 6:3

“All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.”
Psalm 38:9-11


Though grief is a burden that we will have to carry, we aren’t meant to carry it alone. God has given us the body of Christ, other followers of Jesus, to help us bear our burdens so that we will fulfill the law of Christ. As Christ bore our guilt, shame, and sin, so we are called to help bear the burdens of others as we are able.

Allow yourself to be sad.

to go through your valley.

to sit in your sadness and process.

to do whatever it is that you need to do.

We also won’t always get the answers we like and sometimes we won’t get any answers at all.

But God encourages and welcomes our lamentation because He understands that our emotions, pain, and questions come from the depths of our soul.

If we try to deny them, it can cause spiritual dysregulation, harm, and hinder our relationship with Him.

So don’t belittle or dismiss your lament; your grief.
sit with & in them.
Then walk with God through them.
Because

Our grief is meant to bring us closer to God.