"Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -
Proverbs 3:5-6
Unresolved grief multiplies
our problems, and can even cause addiction, homelessness and despair.
Expressing our emotions, sharing our story, getting angry if we need to, and
telling God how we really feel is the key to overcoming grief and turning our
life into something productive. God’s plan for our life does not include living
in the trap of continual cycles of disabling grief and despair. He died to give
us freedom in our spirit, which controls our body and soul if we allow Him to do so. He brings light from our darkness.
We do not betray our lost
loved ones if we choose to get on with our life. Healing and allowing joy to
fill our hearts actually honors them. They can no longer live their life. They
would not want us to waste ours, but to live completely and fully for the Lord.
This honors them as well as the Lord. They are never far from our thoughts. We
may even miss them forever. However, these thoughts should not prevent us from
living our life as God ordained it.
We can thank God for the
time we were allowed to spend with our loved ones. We cherish the memories we
made with them. We learn from the mistakes and we treasure the good times. We
can take our past and our talents and move forward with the conviction that God
still has a plan for our life. We can reach out to others in their need, grief
and loss and share the affection our loved one gave us with someone else.
Although we walk through the valley of despair, we have nothing to fear,
because God is in us, living through our loss with us (Psalm
23:4).
Sometimes, we do not get a
chance to say “Goodbye.” We have unfinished business that was never resolved.
We may have deep rooted conflicts that still fester in our soul. The issues
need to be resolved before we can have healthy relationships in the future.
Write a detailed letter to your loved one, expressing how you really feel and
giving or asking for forgiveness if necessary. Keep it in a box or burn it and
allow the smoke to rise to heaven as a prayer. Allow the ashes to be swept away
by the wind as the Holy Spirit cleanses your soul (Isaiah
43:26).
God gives us Himself to cling
to in our times of grief. Our broken heart finds solace as we place our hope
and trust in Him (Psalm 31:24). We can
have absolute confidence in our faith in God’s desire for our ultimate good. He
gives us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). We look forward the time of Christ’s eminent return to the earth to set
up His Kingdom of righteousness. Until then, we can resolve our grief and live
tomorrow in the center of His will (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, show us Your
ways and teach us Your paths. Guide us in Your truth and teach us. You are our
God and Savior and we keep our hope firmly planted in You all the days of our
life (Psalm 25:4-5). You never let us
down and you will not in any way fail us, nor give us
up, nor leave us without support. You will not in any degree leave us helpless,
nor forsake nor us, nor let us down. Assuredly, You will not relax Your hold on
us (Hebrews 13:5, Amplified). We put our griefs and sorrows as well as our hopes and cares into Your
capable hands and we promise to listen to the guidance of Your Spirit each
moment throughout the day.
Thought for the Day:
God
sheds His light in our darkness, so that we can light the way for someone else
in the future. - Job 29:3
