Beware the ‘theology of denial’ 

‘Very truly I tell you...you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.’ John 16:20 NIV 

Beware of a half-baked ‘theology of denial’ that leaves you spiritually and emotionally crippled for life. What we don’t deal with now will deal with us later in harmful ways. When we stuff things into our emotional rubbish bin, we end up squandering precious time and energy sitting on the lid, trying to keep the contents from spilling out. Jesus said, ‘you shall know [embrace] the truth [even its painful aspects], and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32 NKJV). In A Better Kind of Grieving, Bill Hybels writes, ‘Fifty years ago industrialists thought they could just bury toxic waste and it would go away. We’ve since learned it doesn’t. It leaks into the water, contaminates the crops and kills animals. Burying grief does the same thing. It leaks into our emotional system and wreaks havoc. It distorts our perceptions of life and taints our relationships.’ Hybels continues, ‘When my father died, I replaced the pain real fast. I think I missed only four days of work. I just substituted my feelings of loss and disappointment with a frenzied ministry schedule. I ran from it. That was a bad move for me and for those around me.’ Are you running from pain today? Are you trying to trade it in prematurely for some other feeling? That’s not God’s way. Listen: ‘Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy’ (John 16:22 NIV). 

Prayer Point:

Lord, there are times when I don’t want to confront the pain; I just want it to go away. I pray that any grief I have buried, You will help me to deal with and bring me to a place of healing and freedom so I can look to the good times ahead and not the pain of the past that has trapped me for so long. Amen. 

Acknowledgements: Hybels, Bill, A Better Kind of Grieving (Preaching Today, 1 April, 2003), audio recording.