What could possibly be good about grief? When you grieve, the emotional turmoil might be so overwhelming that you think of giving up. Then there’s Survivor’s Remorse that can add another layer to the soul-crushing feeling of the loss of love and defeat one feels when there is a significant loss. The loneliness that one feels can seem like an avalanche of pain and grief that lingers on and on. As if on cue, there’s that one person who wants to tell you ‘It’s going to be okay’ when the clouds seem so thick and dark and oppressive that the Sun seems to have forever disappeared.
Trials and tribulations are a part of life. No matter the words people want to share, some people just don’t realize we don’t want to hear anything not straight outta’ their heart. Sometimes, a careless whisper can be overheard and friendships are lost in the middle of the grieving process because they didn’t realize nobody wanted to hear the junk from their heart at that moment. Selfishness is never a good trait, but when it’s poorly timed, as well? Ugh. Don’t kick someone when they’re down and don’t ever tell someone to ‘Get it together,’ when they obviously can’t.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Every single one of us gets one ride on this planet. One go around. We don’t want others ruining our go around, but here we are. We don’t need people to cloud our sky. We need people to be real, genuine, compassionate. We need people to make this world a better place, not worsen it with their nonsense and filthy ways. We need people to scatter the clouds, not cluster them. We need people to shine like the Sun, not hide it with their presence. We need people who will light up a room, not darken it. There’s more than enough darkness to go around, why should anyone make it worse by doing the devil’s dirty work?
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”
God is not the source of our pain in any way, shape, or form. He is the source of our hope, joy, and peace. If we ever need help, we can raise our hands in surrender and allow Him the opportunity to help us with our mess, even if we didn’t cause it. What an awesome Friend Jesus is! He never makes a mess, but He’s always available to help us clean up. If we lack hope, joy, and peace, Jesus can, and will, if given the chance, bless us with what we need for life and Godliness. It is not His desire to let us writhe in our anguish, pain, and frustration, but we must allow Him into every little nook and cranny of our pain and misery so He can prove what an awesome God He really is.
“8 Record my misery;
list my tears on your scroll—
are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
when I call for help.
By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?”
God is fully aware of everything that happens to each and every single one of us. In Heaven, there is a book written all about our lives and God does not miss a moment. He has cataloged every step and every decision because He loves us so very much and is also the Righteous Judge, so He must know everything we do and why we do it. His compassions never fail and neither does His love for us. It is we who fail each other when we choose to do what Satan wants and reject what God wants for us. Sorrow always find those who reject God’s plans for their lives, but sometimes a Child of God experiences grief and sorrow, not because we made a bad decision, but because we live in this world of sin and death. No matter how we may try, we cannot insulate ourselves from the repercussions of evil and bad decisions of those around us.
“27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
God is always available to talk. He will not go where He is not welcome, though. We must cultivate an atmosphere of desire for God and welcome Him into our every situation in order to gain breakthrough, miracles, and healing. They aren’t going to happen without Him, so no matter how down and out we may feel in any moment, we can reach out to God, welcome Him into our situation, and know He will do something to help. Let nothing stop you from crying out to God - no shame, no faithless thoughts, no nothing is worth exchanging the wonderful promises of God for continued grief and sorrow.
“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
God’s perfect plan includes blessing us so we may be a blessing to others; to help others in the same ways God has helped us. We often find that God will work through other people in His efforts to draw us closer to Himself. God wants nothing to remain between us and Him, so He does whatever it takes in a concerted effort to reveal Himself in whatever way possible for us to believe and become open to a relationship with Him. Far too often, we wrongly thought God was somehow behind our pain and misery when He’s actually the One waiting for an opportunity to help us make things right, and even better than they were before.
I learned a very powerful truth one precious day in deep prayer. The Holy Spirit informed me that I will remain in this state of grief and sorrow and depression until I learn to humble myself and let God do a sovereign work of redemption in my broken heart. It doesn’t matter why you’re grieving, it’s just that you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re filthy rich or impoverished, straight or gay, bold or shy; God wants to help you right here, right now. I’m not promising He’s going to simply wipe away every tear and you’ll be good as new, but I can promise you that He will quickly set things in motion for your breakthrough and, if you’re truly willing to let Him take charge, He will ‘work everything for the good’ if you surrender to His will. All He needs is a heart fully surrendered to Him and He can work any miracle.
“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””
If you’re sick ‘n’ tired of being sick ‘n’ tired, why not let God do what He’s great at? As I like to say, you don’t need to do 500 pushups, 500 jumping jacks, and climb Mount Kilimanjaro to get God’s attention. We learned in Isaiah 64:6 that ‘our righteous acts are as filthy rags’ anyway, so what do we have to lose? Just do it!
If you’re ever going to ‘trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6), it might as well start right here, right now.
PRAYER
Father God, in all Your goodness and holiness, I look to You to help me get out of this mess of emotions and help me find meaning and make sense of my life again. Please take over and make things right again. I agree to let You remain on the throne and I will take the role of servant for the rest of my life. I choose to let You be the King of my life and I choose to let You guide me for the rest of my life. Please help me get through this time of impossibility and difficulty and lead me beside still waters and grant me love, joy, and peace in all their fullness. Your word says in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. Lord, I really could use some serious joy right here, right now, so please take me wherever You want me to be and I’ll gladly follow. Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer and for loving me with a perfect love that drives out all fear. I choose to no longer fear the future but I am (cautiously still) excited about what You’re about to do in every facet of my life. Lead the way! Let’s go. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
Title photo courtesy of Unsplash - Pierre Bamin