21 Ways To Thrive By 45Shembull

Process Loss and Grief

It’s impossible to bounce through life unscathed. Suffering binds the human race together. It’s not a minor possibility but a promise in this life. No matter what kind of baggage we’ve stuffed in our hearts, Jesus is our Restoration. Our Hope. Our Healer. Isaiah 53 reminds us, by his wounds and sacrifice we’re healed. As we allow him in the dark corners of our soul, he heals our wounds. We see life through our losses and pain. It clouds our ability to relate, love, receive, and grow. If we ignore it and let it fester beneath the surface of our heart, it does unimaginable damage in our beliefs about us and our beliefs about God.

Too often we wear our loss and grief like a thorn in the flesh never to be removed. In reality, our pain was never meant to be a long-term partner. Our pain is to be exchanged for the grace and redemption from the Father. He is not absent in our wounds. Our misery. He is with us, acquainted with our grief. He is close to the brokenhearted. It’s for the downtrodden he came. He isn’t the source of our anguish but the answer to it. His son’s affliction gave way for our freedom.

We must lean into the dark parts of our stories. Walk through it. Not around it. Not over it. Jesus said, “Blessed are the mourning, for they shall be comforted.” There is room for us to mourn over what has broken our hearts. In our lament, we groan for Jesus. Our comfort and solace. Nothing in our lives is out of his reach. He can handle it all. Any loss. Any grief. Any trauma.

Today is the day to identify the source of the anxiety, stress, loss, and grief. Invite Christ to illuminate every corner of your heart with his glorious light. Ask him to make his gift of life, truth, and healing yours by the power of his Holy Spirit. The fullness of God waits as you lay down your stress, your sorrow, your grief, and baggage. It’s never too late to live the life you were destined to live. One of freedom hidden deep in the person of Jesus.