“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven…A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NLT)
Rick Warren wrote: “There is this myth that Christians should be always smiling, always happy, always cheerful. But the Bible says, ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens . . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NIV). Sometimes the only appropriate, logical response to life is grief. The Bible says you should grieve over your losses, including your disappointments, your sin, the suffering in the world, and your friends who are spiritually lost. God doesn’t expect you to be happy all the time. In fact, he wants you to be intentional in your grief.”
Life demands balance, thus, it’s helpful that in every season of our lives we seek closeness with the Lord. Why is that so vital? Because the Lord is all-knowing, all-compassionate, all-loving. He will provide exactly what we need when we need it. And that’s critically important because without His intervention we’ll tend to get stuck in any given season.
Yes, of course, there are things that happen to us that we’ll never “get over,” but by God’s grace and with His help, we can move beyond. God’s plan is for us, not to forget, but to invest! How so? I’ve had dogs most of my adult life, but they’re not simply pets, they’re family. So, when my dog dies its heart wrenching. I can’t just turn off my pain and move on. It takes time to grieve. But by God’s grace I can share what I learned in my pain with someone else.
A friend at church, in the last few months, lost his daughter and his dog. And please don’t misunderstand. There’s no comparison between losing a child and a pet, but both have a significant place in our heart and demand significant time from which to heal.
Pastor Rick continues: “You need to grieve that hurt. Why? Because if you don’t grieve, you get stuck emotionally, and you spend the rest of your life reacting to something that happened a long time ago and taking it out on the people around you. It’s unhealthy!
David talked about this in Psalm 32:3: ‘When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long’ (NCV). The bad things that happen to you are not your choice. But grief is a choice! You’ve got to let yourself mourn losses so that you can move forward to emotional and spiritual health.”
Two things that have helped me in times of grief. First, I cut myself some slack and let the Lord lead me through my season of pain in a healthy way. How so? By God’s grace I sought to share my pain with those who gave me permission to share. I found that talking about my lost loved one or pet, softened death’s blow and on some levels, lessoned my heartache.
Does that mean I quickly forgot? Even as I write these words, I’m fighting back the tears that surface as I think of the losses in my life. Grief is an important and necessary season, but, gratefully, it, too, shall pass.
The second very helpful piece of grief to me is finding someone who is suffering to comfort. No one understands grief like someone who is grieving. There are times all someone needs is someone to care enough to sit with them. Grief sharing is a very helpful ministry when we understand that it often doesn’t need words.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 