You will grieve....

Last week we broached the topic of grief....

One of the difficulties of facing this subject head-on is that no one, particularly people of faith, wants to admit that bad things might happen. There is no "if" "and" or "but" about it. Bad things will happen on this earth.

I can hear some of my faith friends gasping in shock! Jesus said it Himself. John 16:33 quotes Jesus as saying, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To be clear, I am not contending that you should expect bad things to happen. Nor am I teaching that God wants or causes hurtful or painful circumstances in your life.

We can pray, believe, and speak the Word of God so that no weapon formed against us will prosper. However, there are still weapons that are formed against us.

God has commanded His angels to guard us in all of our ways. There must be something from which those angels need to guard us. Here's the truth: Satan is on this earth to steal, kill, and destroy. Sometimes he gets the upper hand. (There are lots of reasons for that, but that will have to wait for another time!)

For those whose faith is in Jesus Christ, there will come a day when there will be no more tears, sadness, or pain. 

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

However, we are not yet in that day.

Jesus told His disciples,

You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

Imagine how they felt.

Jesus' followers expected Him to rise up and lead Israel to freedom from the tyranny of Rome. They saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. They forfeited their businesses to follow Him. They loved him dearly, and there, at Calvary, they saw the One they honored, the One they followed, the One they called, "Rabbi" scourged, beaten, crowned with thorns. They saw the nails be driven in His hands. They watched as He agonizingly cried out to the Father, "Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani."

The word "watch" is hardly an accurate description of what you do when someone you love is suffering. 

I've cried many, many more tears over my loved ones' pain than I have over my own. 

The disciples mourned for Jesus. I believe they weren't just sad over their loss; they were hurting over their Loved One's pain. 

The disciples' sadness caused a significant memory lapse....they forgot that Jesus said their mourning would be turned into joy.

In Matthew 28:8 we read that on the morning of the resurrection, the women ran from the sepulcher with great joy. It happened-just as Jesus had said! 

They wept for a time.
They mourned their loss and grieved over Jesus' suffering.
However, just as Jesus told them, their mourning was turned to joy!

You may be surrounded by the darkness of grief today, but if you keep moving forward, you will encounter the light of joy!

Today's message is this-

• Stuff happens in this world.
• When your loved ones are hurting, it is normal to hurt for them.
• Sorrow can cloud your mind. You had a past that had love, joy, and positive experiences.
• You also have a future that has love, joy, and positive experiences.
• In the midst of sorrow, continue to believe that your sorrow will be turned to joy, even though you may not feel like it at all!
• There is a future. There is a hope. 
• Everything won't always be like it is today.

You may be asking, "How am I supposed to do that? If you only knew what I was going through." 

I don't know exactly what you're going through today, but I do know that God's Word is true. 

Weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)

We'll talk more about exactly HOW to go from mourning to joy in the next few blogs.
God loves you and has a hope and a future for you!!
I'll blog you next week.....In the meantime, do something today to fulfill your purpose.

Let’s talk about what most people rarely talk about.

My mother is 91 years old. She has been confined to bed for over a year. The day is approaching when her spirit will peacefully slip out of her body and walk through a door that some refer to as “the pearly gates.” What those who remain call, “death” is just “walking through a door” for the one experiencing it. It’s a part of life. In Disney’s “Lion King” movie, it became known as “The circle of life.”

If “death” (I much prefer the term “passing” because that’s really what it is) is such a part of life, why is it so rarely discussed? People talk about getting married, having babies, career challenges, raising children, retirement, but this part of life is rarely dealt with until it slaps one in the face with the sting of grief.

If you live long enough, you will experience a genuine life crisis that causes grief. Grief is keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow, painful regret. It can hit in several ways.

I don’t mean to be a “negative Nellie” today. My intention is to give you hope to help you through those periods of loss. It affects people at different times in different ways. It might be

·      A doctor’s diagnosis that includes the word, “terminal”

·      A meeting that results in your removal from a job or position in ministry

·      A discovery that your spouse or child is addicted to drugs or pornography

·      A confession that your spouse has been unfaithful

·      A knock on the door or an emergency phone call that begins, “There’s been an accident….”

·      A final moment near the bedside of a spouse, a child, or a parent

You may be going through something like this today; you may have gone through it, but you’re not sure you’re completely whole, or you may one day go through something that causes grief. It happens.

Everything is moving along nicely in your life, and then suddenly-everything changes!

Suddenlies in life can be positive. I often preach a message on “Preparing for Your Suddenlies.” ”Prepare for God to do something wonderful in your life; it will happen suddenly. God operates suddenly, but not unexpectedly. You must expect Him to move…. God will do it, but you must believe and prepare!”  That’s the good stuff.

But “suddenlies” can also be negative, and you should be prepared to handle those as well!

This is so close to my heart, so important, and there is so much to share that we will be looking at this topic over several posts. This is the first of a blog series that I am calling, “Mourning at Night-Joy in the Morning-How to Stay Spiritually Strong through Personal Crisis or Loss.”

Let’s be honest. Let’s talk about the hard stuff. Let’s deal with and prepare so that when those negative “suddenlies” happen, our faith is not destroyed.

The honest truth is this- Grief can affect belief.

Look at Mark 16:10-11…. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

On “Easter” morning (the morning of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead) Mary ran to tell the disciples, “Jesus is risen,” but they were so overwhelmed with grief that they couldn’t believe!

Jesus told the disciples that in this life we would have troubles, but to be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) Still, their grief kept them from experiencing the joy of that resurrection morning!

Let’s talk about how you can go from mourning at night to joy in the morning. Trust me-it IS possible-even in the most difficult circumstances.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

Share this blog. Get people connected. I know it will help them get through difficult times. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series. Until next time-do something today to fulfill your purpose.