HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 153
page A151
Participate in the process of grief. Take time to personally mourn, but also become involved
in the necessary steps to bring closure to your loss. We grieve because we have had a positive experience—what we lost was important to us. Getting involved in the process of grief is
a way of honoring what was meaningful.
• E C C L E S I A S T E S 3 :4 | A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to
dance. (See note on page 589.)
• 2 SA MU E L 1 9 :6 | “You have made it clear today that your commanders and troops mean
nothing to you. It seems that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died, you would be
pleased.”
Grief has its season, but then it is time to move on to another. God wants us to wipe our
tears, move on, and be redemptive to other grieving people.
• G E NE SI S 2 1 :1 7 | God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar.
• I SA I A H 6 6 :1 3 | “I will comfort you there in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child.”
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 :3 | God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
• J O H N 1 1 :3 5 | Then Jesus wept. (See note on page 967.)
God knows we grieve, understands our sorrow, and comforts us. He does not promise
to preserve us from grief but to help us through it.
• R E VE L AT I O N 2 1 :4 | He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more
death or sorrow or crying or pain.
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 7 :1 0 | For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away
from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly
sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
• J O E L 2 :1 3 | “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to
the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with
unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
Your times of grief can lead to confession, repentance, and a restored relationship with
God. When grief leaves your soul empty, God can fill it with more than you ever dreamed.
• L A ME NTAT I O NS 3 :2 0 -2 3 | I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet
I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His
mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Grief can renew your hope in God. In your grief, hang onto the knowledge that the
“faithful love of the LORD never ends!”
• PSA L M 3 0 :1 1 -1 2 | You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken
away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you
and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
Grief can lead to a time of praise and thanksgiving to God.
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 1 :4 | He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.
When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Your grief can give you the ability to better comfort others. Grief is a teacher that helps
you learn compassion for others who are grieving.
How can I help others who are grieving?
• PR O VE R B S 2 5 :2 0 | Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking
someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.
• PSA L M 6 9 :2 0 | Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person
would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.
Give your attention, sympathy, and comfort to the grieving. Pretending that the pain is not
there is like rubbing salt in a wound. It is difficult to be with someone who is grieving, but
you don’t need to come up with the right words to make it all go away. You can’t. Your
concern and presence will help a grieving person more than words.
HelpFinder
How can God use my grief for good?
G
Take hope that there will be no more grief in heaven.