grieving – Positive Woman Connection

IMG_0211 (Edited)

In these last few weeks, the terrible tragedies in our nation have surfaced heart-felt questions from many people:

Why would God allow this?

Where is God when these things happen?

There are no easy ways to answer these questions. Even Job in the Old Testament came to the conclusion that there are certain aspects about our circumstances we simply can’t comprehend. But there is one question we can answer:

What does the Bible tell us about God’s heart?

In the midst of our sadness and grief, there are many truths about God which we can hold onto in our lives. I want to mention two:

God brings comfort in our pain. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) His presence is with His people even in the midst of tragedy. His Spirit is our comforter and healer and is a very present help in time of need. God doesn’t promise us a life without tragedy, but He does promise to be with us through the hard places. David wrote,

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

God gives us hope in our despair. The Bible refers to God as the God of Hope. If He can bring hope from the tragedy of the cross and the brutal death of His Son Jesus, He can bring hope and redemption to our lives as well. We may not be able to see it now. It may take time to work through our grief, but He always brings hope. The ultimate hope He has given us is to be in heaven with Him one day.

Paul prayed, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13) As you walk through grief or questions, my prayer is that His Spirit will bolster you with a hope and a peace that the world cannot comprehend.

I encourage you to search the scriptures yourself and find comfort, wisdom and strength in getting to know the God of the Bible.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Real

It may seem ironic to say that one of the most positive steps we can take is to grieve and cry – to be real with our emotions. Grieving and crying is a way to feel the pain and release the hurt that is going on inside of us. Solomon said, “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Paul encouraged the Roman church to “weep with those who weep.”
Scientific research on Post Traumatic Growth (PTG as opposed to PTSD), reveals that those who feel their pain deeply and are realistic about their difficulties are actually able to grow from them. The key is to grieve well, but then not to stay in the pit. Eventually, we must climb out of the pit and consider what we can learn from our challenges.
True positive means being honest with our hurt and pain and working through it rather than glossing over it or numbing ourselves in it. As believers, we need to feel the pain, and recognize that God has not left us to fight our battles alone. There is always hope (which we will talk about tomorrow).