This is something I wrote. Those of you on the prayer forum know which grief I am talking about.
Grief is a little understood concept in our modern world. Some people think of grief as an overwhelming depression over a loss. Some people see it as a way of coping with separation. Some see it as a bad thing which should be overcome and discarded as quickly as possible. But none of these are accurate. What grief is is realizing that something of great worth is now gone.
People deal with grief in different ways. Some people shut down and withdraw into themselves. Some people try to forget it by doing foolish things that only distract for a while, then lead to greater sadness. Some people just try to not worry about it and just push on with their lives. But all of these responses are inadequate to bring healing after a great sadness. The way to properly deal with grief is to recognize that something of great worth was, in fact, lost, and that sadness is appropriate. But through the sadness, there must be hope, and there must be Christ. Christ shared in our grief, and he knows exactly what we are going through. Sometimes our grief was brought on by our own sins, and we have to come to terms with our sins and repent first. But sometimes grief is brought on by something outside of our control. In either case, once we have come to a place of brokenness, that is where God can step in and let us start again.
No matter what grief we go through, in order to come out stronger on the other side, we must recognize that something great was lost, but allow God into our lives and let him make things better. He knows what it's like, and unlike the fickle humans we are, he will always know how to bring healing and bring good. But only if we let him. If you are in a state of grief, the first step should always be to seek Him. You must also be willing to repent and accept the consequences of sin if you were at fault. Then you can move forward to a better place God has for you. In his plan, we oftentimes mess up and ruin some good he had for us. But that doesn't mean He doesn't have a different good. Sometimes that means a second chance, sometimes not. Sometimes we have to just accept that we can't correct our mistakes. But if we properly deal with grief, we can rest assured, even through the midst of the pain, that though a good was lost, good is not lost.
Some would say that the opposite of grief is hope. But hope is the opposite of despair. The opposite of grief is running from God. Hope is something to carry us through grief and on to the good God has planned for us. So if you are grieving as I am, never lose hope. Through the pain that you are feeling, there is comfort only in hope in God. If you run and try any of the other methods, you will feel less pain for a season. But eventually, the only way to get your life back on track is to lose your life to Christ, to re-devote yourself to him and humble your heart to whatever he has in store for you.
Never lose hope. Never cut yourself off from a new future because an old one is gone. Never allow the enemy to destroy your life through bitterness or wantonness. Never allow yourself to be defeated by your pain. Be strong. Grieve. Mourn the good and look forward to the better. We have a Father, and if we run to him, he will dry the tears from our eyes.
