LISTEN: How to Grieve Well
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WATCH: 5 Prayers for Your Grieving Heart
The live, raw, unfiltered coverage of world events shared 24/7 through social media sadly gives us a vivid view of what’s taking place around the world, including horrific tragedies and heartaches. As Christians, we may be asking ourselves, where do we find comfort and ways to deal with the great sorrow and grief happening on the earth today? And is it okay for us to continue to enjoy our families in the midst of seeing such unbelievable heartache and loss?
It’s challenging, too, because there are those who rejoice over the evil happening in the world, people who celebrate and justify it. As Jesus’ crucifixion drew near, He explained how some would rejoice over their grief but take care and know that one day, their sorrow would turn to joy. “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (John 16:20).
Like Jesus’ followers who experienced grave sorrows, we can take comfort in knowing that one day God will turn the world’s grief into joy, too. Revelation 21:5 assures us that “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’ Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
Although we may not understand how it is possible to do so, God is trustworthy and true, and He has given us His assurance that one day, He will make all things right. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
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Where Do We Begin in Our Grappling?
How do we go through each day in the safety of our homes and communities, knowing others have lost their homes and families, people who are now grief-stricken, homeless, wounded, suffering, and without hope? It’s godly for us to mourn.
Jesus explained in Matthew 5:4 how, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
It’s Christ-like and keeps our hearts tender. Jesus experienced deep sorrow and grief on earth. Some even refer to Him as Man of Sorrows. “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3).
If anyone knows what it’s like to live and walk about in a fallen, sorrowful world, Jesus knows. He knows and He weeps (John 11:35).
Matthew 23:37 records the compassion and deep sorrow Jesus experienced while living on earth. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”
How Do We Keep Living Our Lives Amidst Such Sorrow?
So, how do we cope? How do we go on living our lives day-to-day amidst such sorrow while so many individuals in the world are suffering? The following are eight ways.
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1. By Praying for Those Affected
Our first response to a grieving world is prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 urges us to “Pray continually.” By praying continually, we send God’s word, His presence, peace, and comfort to people wherever they are, in whatever dire situation they are in at the time.
Prayer is our avenue to reaching out and helping. By calling on God to intervene, we send the most effective kind of assistance possible. Psalm 107:20 explains how, “He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
Likewise, Ephesians 6:18 urges, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
By dedicating ourselves to prayer, we will be ministering to those who are hurting, as well as, helping ourselves to be able to walk out each day comforted, knowing our prayers are making a difference in situations. Colossians 4:2 also encourages, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
2. By Resisting Troubling Thoughts
It’s hard to see the headlines and hear the reports without being troubled. It’s overwhelming and heartbreaking. Still, God encourages us to not let our hearts be weighted down with it. But how is that possible? Jesus explained how to keep troubling thoughts from our hearts. It’s by believing in God and believing in Him.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me” (John 14:1).
By focusing on God’s promises in our lives and keeping them in the forefront of our thoughts, troubling thoughts have no room to take hold of our minds.
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3. By Casting Our Cares
God doesn’t call us to take the world’s sorrow on ourselves. He knows it’s too heavy for us to carry and too much for our hearts to hold onto. Because He knows the heaviness of our sorrow and grief, He urges us to cast it all onto Him. Like 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
As Psalm 55:22 explains, when we do, we experience God upholding us and keeping us steadfast in an unsteady world. ”Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”
4. By Receiving God’s Peace
God doesn’t want us to be afraid of the disturbing events we are hearing about and seeing happening in the world today. Jesus experienced firsthand the sorrows of earthly life, making sure when He left, to leave us His peace because He knew we would need it. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
The world cannot offer us any lasting form of peace. Only God can give us peace that passes all understanding. Philippians 4:7 describes, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
This kind of peace comes when we follow Philippians 4:6 instructions to, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.”
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5. By Resting in Christ
Seeing, hearing, and reading about the horrors of the world all day, can make it hard to sleep at night. Our minds seem to run overtime, causing us to toss, turn, and grapple with all that’s going on on the earth. It’s all very emotionally tiring and exhausting for many individuals. And while a glass of warm milk might bring some pre-sleep comfort, for the most part, the enemy of our souls likes to wake us up in the early morning hours to torment our minds with the sorrowful images of worldwide grief.
But we are not created to carry the burdens of humankind in our hearts and minds, so Matthew 11:28 gives us a pathway to rest, where Jesus calls out to us, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
6. By Relying on God’s Strength rather than Our Own
God did not design us to hold the world’s sorrows on our shoulders. Rather, we are to rely on His strength. When we do, He is there to strengthen us. As Isaiah 40:29 explains, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
As well, Psalm 46:1 assures us how, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
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7. By Praising God
It may seem like there is little to praise God for in the midst of the world’s suffering, but praising Him is not dependent upon the condition of the world, but on the One whom we are praising. Psalm 146:2 expresses the heartfelt commitment we can make to praising God. “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
He is always worth praising, in every situation and every season of life. Whatever is happening on the earth does not diminish or take away the praise God deserves each and every day. When we do, our hearts are strengthened and encouraged. Even in the most sorrowful of times, praise brings us God’s help and fills our hearts with His joy. As Psalm 28:7 describes, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.”
8. By Believing the World’s Grave Sorrows Will One Day Be Wiped Away
Is it okay to continue enjoying our families, with so much sorrow taking place in the world? Revelation 21:4 describes how “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Believing God will one day wipe away all sadness from our lives, with the promise of living eternally free from anguish and heartache, helps us to survive through earth’s present-day sorrows and to continue to enjoy our families in the midst of it.
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:17).
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Originally published Friday, 27 October 2023.