Grief Is Hard
I have grieved many times in my life. Grief is a very real and very deep emotion when a person suffers loss, affliction, regret or heartbreak. It is not super easy to navigate. I remember the death of people very close to me and the grief was a bit longer and deeper. I also remember the heartache when a very close relationship ended. I believe people who are given a grave prognosis also suffer grief.
The Five Stages of Griefproposed by Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler are very accurate and real, in my view. There is a pathway through grief, and there are no shortcuts. Grieving is a process for sure.
I was reading Jeremiah and I understand why He is called the “weeping prophet”. He grieves for the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Check this out…
18 My grief is beyond healing;
my heart is broken.
19 Listen to the weeping of my people;
it can be heard all across the land.
“Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask.
“Is her King no longer there?”
“Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols
and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.
20 “The harvest is finished,
and the summer is gone,” the people cry,
“yet we are not saved!”
21 I hurt with the hurt of my people.
I mourn and am overcome with grief.
22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why is there no healing
for the wounds of my people?(Jeremiah 8:18-22 NLT)
Jeremiah’s grief was for a generation of people he knew. I believe he knew their names and where they lived, yet they refused to surrender to the Lord’s call upon their lives. Jeremiah grieved over sin and loss because the Lord had given him insight as to what was coming.
I believe that my grief should be different than the grief of those who don’t know the Lord. I grieve with hope that there is more than just this life. I grieve with hope that people can and do change. I grieve with hope because I’ve been given insight as to what is next.
The other part of grief that is real to me is grieving over my sin and stupid choices. I have hope in the Lord. My Hope is alive because Jesus is my HOPE. I still choose the wrong way too often. I embarrass the Lord too often. I need to let the grief over my sin call me into a deeper relationship with the Lord. I need the grief over my sin to be obvious before the Lord. I am so thankful for His Patience as I stumble badly. I’m so thankful for His Presence in my grief – no matter if its grief over my sin or the loss of a good friend or a broken relationship. The Lord’s Presence is often more obvious when He’s all I have to hold on to in my brokenness.
Pressing On!
Dwayne