The Bible affirms grieving
This is an important place to start because many people in the church wonder if grieving is in some way a lack of faith in God. So it’s a good place to start to show that the Bible does affirm and even encourage grief in the midst of suffering.
Job 3—One of the most righteous of all God’s people mourns in grief and spends an entire chapter of the Bible cursing the day he was born, wishing he had never lived. This helps people to have permission to grieve—even the most godly people grieve.
Psalm 88—This is the most gut-wrenching Psalm in the Bible. It ends with the Psalmist still in despair. This again creates room. By inspiring this Psalm, God taught his people to grieve and to acknowledge real grief without simplistic answers.
Psalm 44—This Psalm acknowledges the reality that people who have experienced the blessings of God can experience such hardship and suffering in life that it feels like they have been abandoned by God.
In the Gospel, God joins us in our grief
Psalm 22—This Psalm becomes one of the most powerful Psalms for those grieving when we understand that Jesus quoted this Psalm while he was on the cross (Matthew 27:46). Reading this Psalm in that light helps us understand how the gospel begins to speak to the grief and mourning and depression we feel when we suffer. God cares so much about our suffering that he entered into it himself. He isn’t absent from suffering, but entered into it on the cross, so that he could pass through suffering and into the hope of resurrection. Jesus’ work on the cross shows us that God is with us in our suffering and he will lead us through it.
God’s Presence and Promises give us hope in our grief
Psalm 23—This Psalm’s powerful image of God being our shepherd comes near to us in grief where it says in verse 4—“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” This promise is most clearly seen on the cross, and it demonstrates that since Jesus had entered into the worst death for us, he’ll surely be with us in all of our suffering.
Psalm 13—This is a brief expression of how the gospel can meet us in our suffering and bring us back to God. In the midst of the Psalmist’s grief, he throws himself back on God’s steadfast love, and finds comfort and hope in the midst of his suffering.
Christians have hope in the midst of grief
1Thessalonians 4:13—This is a new testament passage that differentiates the way that Christians grieve. It affirms that Christians do in fact grieve. It’s not human to live above grief—it’s a part of the human experience. But, Christians grieve as those who have hope in God who will reverse death and bring about the restoration of all things.
The Gospel transforms grief into opportunity
2Corinthians 1:8-11—Here the apostle Paul describes the reality of dealing with suffering. He was “burdened beyond his own strength,” he “despaired of life itself,” and he “felt the sentence of death.” This is a great acknowledgement of the reality of suffering, even for the most mature of God’s people. He also acknowledges his desperate need for others to pray for him, so that God’s power would bring about good through his suffering.
2Corinthians 1:3-7—Here the apostle Paul shares the remarkable conclusion that he has come to about his own suffering. He has suffered in prolonged, extreme, and repeated ways both physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Yet, God has comforted him in his suffering SO THAT he might be able to comfort others who are suffering. This brings remarkable hope not only that God can comfort us, but that he will do more than that. As God brings us comfort, he will use us to be able to comfort others who have no hope in their suffering.
Questions:
Do you feel like you have permission to grieve?
Have you been able to experience God’s presence in the midst of your grief?
Do you experience hope in the midst of your grief?
