A Key to Working Through Grief

Two weeks ago, I blogged about sitting at my mother’s bedside. The doctor suspected that her remaining time on earth would soon end, and he was right. Mom took her last breath on earth and then moved to heaven on Friday, October 9th. I had the privilege of praying for her and worshiping Jesus in those sacred moments—an experience for which I am beyond grateful.

My head hasn’t yet wrapped itself around the fact that Mom’s no longer with us. My heart feels like it has a gaping hole. Grief has run over me like a steam roller, and tears flow at the most unexpected times. But God is good and gives me snippets of encouragement when I need it most.

This morning, I participated in my weekly Zoom Bible study with a group of women who are dear friends and sisters in Christ. In the end, the leader reminded us that Jesus was no stranger to heartache.

She quoted Isaiah 53:3:

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

As I’ve pondered this verse today, I’ve found encouragement in knowing that Jesus was acquainted with—not controlled by—grief. He experienced it more deeply than we can ever know, but He did not let it commandeer His emotions, cause Him to deviate from His divine mission, or lessen His love for others or for God who ordained the hardships He encountered while in human form.

Grieving is a natural and necessary process when we face disappointment and loss.

We can walk this journey in a healthy way, or we can stumble through it, hoping to survive the ride. If the latter, we might say or do things we later regret. We might lash out at a family member with whom we already have a tense relationship. We might fall into believing that God doesn’t really love us after all and turn from Him.

We might think no one really understands what we’re feeling, so we withdraw and try to handle our heartache in silence and solitude. We might even dive into binge eating. There’s a reason we call certain edibles “comfort” food, right?

We all experience grief in some form or other at some time or other. In fact, the year 2020 has given pretty much everyone on the planet a taste of it. Each person’s journey looks different from others, but one truth remains the same: We can walk this path well by looking at Jesus’s example. A man acquainted with grief, He neither fell into despair nor did He use sorrow as an excuse for sin. We can trust Him to help us do the same.