Overcoming Grief #2 of 2

Excerpt taken from the book Overcomers, A Study on Gaining Victory Over the Obstacles in Life by Jeffrey Bush 

God doesn’t abandon us. He hears us. 

Grief has a way of making us think that God is far from us, but that is not the case at all. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” God has not abandoned you. If we were to run through the Word of God, we know well that God doesn’t abandon His children. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He has a perfect track record, you can definitely count on Him! Don’t allow your feelings to deceive you into doubting Him. 

In Psalm 31, David is going through a pretty bad time. In verse nine he says, “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief,” and in verse ten, he says, “My life is spent with grief.” It’s pretty obvious he is grieving. Grief seems to have almost swallowed him up. In the verses to follow, he confesses his trust is in God, but the conclusion of the chapter changes the tune of all when it says, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord” (vs. 24). It seems that David says, “Cheer up, he hasn’t left you and doesn’t plan on it.” God will lift and strengthen your heart, so hope in Him and cheer up. God hasn’t abandoned you and He never will!

God is our comforter.

Our God has many titles, but one of the many assuring ones in difficult times is the title He is given in 2 Corinthians 1:3, “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” No matter what pain and grief you are going through, never forget that you have a Comforter! 

Our Jesus told His disciples in John 14 that He would be leaving and going back to Heaven with His Father. But he told them to not worry because He was going to leave them a Comforter that would be with them forever (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit, Whom Christ was presenting and promising them, is Who we now have living and abiding in us Christians today (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). He is forever with us, and He is our Comforter!

It is okay to grieve.

It’s not wrong to grieve, but you must allow God to use the grief in your life to cause you to turn to Him. Grieving is not wrong. Of course, you miss the loved one that is no longer with you. The question is, will you choose to allow the grief to fuel you or anchor you down? Allow me to explain. Grief can push you to look to God, to love those who are still with you, to use your time more conscientiously, and to be more open and expressive to others on a constant basis. The negative side would be that grief can cause you to withdraw from everyone, blame God, become angry at the world, and not want to continue living. Although it may seem painful, you must decide to allow God to use the difficult moments in your life for your good and for His glory. So, yes, do grieve, but allow the end of that grief to cause you to run to the Lord instead of run from the Lord. 

Before we leave this subject, allow me to tell you that not only can God help you overcome the grief in your own life, but it might just be that God wants to use you to help someone else through their grief. Pay close attention to what it says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” Did you notice that? God has full intentions for you to learn from being comforted so that you can turn around and comfort others. Don’t let the hard time you are going through discourage you. Allow God to use it in your life so you can minister to others. 

One last word of encouragement from King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, in Psalm 119:50: “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.” You can run to God and His Word in your hard times and grieving moments, for He is your comfort!

Let’s close out this chapter meditating on the old hymn entitled “Farther Along.” The song offers both a question and an answer, explaining even the timing to our understanding.

Often I wonder why I must journey

Over a road so rugged and steep;

While there are others living in comfort,

While with the lost I labor and weep.

Farther along we'll know more about it.

Farther along we'll understand why;

Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine

We'll understand it all by and by.