Good Grief

It is a little risky for me to write about grief.  First, I’m a novice.  Second, my understanding is skewed by the intensity of what I am feeling in these days.  But I ask you to indulge me for moment.  This morning the Lord showed me something that really encouraged me and I felt may encourage you.

All I know about grief is that it is a very painful reality.  I would say “grief feels bad”. I understand it is actually a mechanism of grace that enables us to cope with loss, but in spite of all the clinical explanations, it hurts. It is the deep longing of the soul for someone/thing that is missing.  The deepest grief is the pain we feel when we realize that someone we loved dearly is permanently gone from our life.  The best description I can articulate is simply that grief is the unsatisfied longing of the soul that overwhelms us with sorrow.

We all have felt grief to one degree or another at some point in our lives. From our earliest childhood we are introduced to the pain we feel for something that is missing.  Generally speaking as we mature and grow we experience more intense grief as the things that are removed from us get bigger and bigger.  

One of the things I love about scripture is that it is not silent on the issues both and good and bad that we encounter in this life.  It is not silent on grief. 

This morning I was struck by the expression of lament that the writer of the 42nd Psalm exhibits. I had never understood this passage in light of grief so distinctly until today.  But as we read these verses what we are actually reading is the deep, aching sorrow that is coming out of the heart of the worshipper.   Listen to this lament. 

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”

While we most often view this passage as a warm picture of hunger for God and have even turned these words into a sweet worship chorus (and that’s ok) what we are actually reading here is one of the Sons of Korah lamenting his separation from God and his unfulfilled longing to be back in God’s presence.  He was grieving God being gone from his life.  

It sounds a lot like the feelings we encounter when we are grieving over someone in our life. 

The insatiable longing that comes from deep within us.  The questions about when and why.  The mockery of his tears that compound his sorrow.  These all give us a pretty good definition of grief.  

Here’s the encouraging word this morning.  While we all have things that have been permanently taken from us,  the presence of God is not one of them!  While this writer is grieving he soon remembers that there is always the promise that God’s presence will fill his heart again.  

Twice in this passage he reminds himself that God is never truly gone and that the hope of experiencing the presence of the Lord is real in every season of life, no matter how dark.  

In his honest expression of grief he teaches us a very powerful lesson, namely, that the pursuit of God is the key to every longing of our soul.  The best hope for soothing our grief is the pursuit of God.  

He admonishes himself in this midst of his sorrow to look to God and in Him we will find a brighter tomorrow.

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

Our encouragement this morning is that no matter the depth of our sorrow, and regardless the finality of our loss, God is never permanently removed from us and our greatest hope is not in the return of what we have lost but in intimacy with our maker.  Ultimately communion with God comforts our soul in our darkest moments and will one day produce a reunion with the one we have lost.

Hoping in God soothes our aching hearts.  

Pursuing God drives us in the right direction.  

Experiencing God satisfies us like nothing else can.  

This morning if you are grieving over something you’ve lost, join me in turning your sadness into a renewed search for God’s presence in our life.

Hope in Him, pursue Him and experience the bright promise He offers for our future. 

Longing for God is really good for our grief!

BE ENCOURAGED, WE’RE CHRISTIANS!

I love you all!
PT