Grieving WellSample

For many years now, there have been some radical ideas in the Christian church regarding faith, how to exercise it, and what to expect from a sovereign God when you do. Some suggest that you need to positively confess what you want from God (removal of sickness, ongoing safety, no experience of loss, etc.) and believe in all your heart for it, and He will grant you whatever you pray for. Some have exercised faith in this manner for loved ones who were sick, only to watch the sickness claim them in death. So, was their faith too weak? No.

While we are all called to be bold in our faith, we must also balance that with the knowledge that we serve a sovereign God, Whose will sometimes requires that people we love to pass on. We cannot control God. Faith means we must trust even in the face of pain and loss. We must participate with the process of grieving so that those who remain in our lives while on this earth will still have access to our hearts and health, love and gifts. We must grieve well not only for ourselves and our own healing but for the rest of our loved ones who need us and want us to be present with them.

.PRAYER: Lord, strengthen my faith so that I might have the boldness to ask You for the things that You want for me. Remind me that you are not a God I can manipulate or control, but rather a God I can approach. Give me the heart to believe that what has happened in this loss can serve a greater good for You and Your will for my life. I am grateful for Your presence and Your faithfulness in my life. Right now, I come to You asking that You would pour out your Spirit on me. Continue to strengthen me when I must carry the weight of great loss. I ask that You would give me a supernatural peace. Keep me from holding my grief inside or from allowing it to dictate the way I live my day to day life. Help me to approach my loss as a process, one where I can grieve well and recover well. In all things, I surrender my will to Yours, my heart to Yours, and trust that as I walk through the valley of death, You really are with me, guiding me and comforting me. In Christ's name, amen.

If you found this devotional meaningful, we invite you to download the sermon "Oh yes, He cares" by Tony Evans as a way of drawing nearer to the Lord during this season of loss. Simply go here to download the sermon.