How to Deal with Grief

Grief is a powerful state of mind that everyone will experience in their lifetime. It is necessary and important, but how do we deal with it well?

How to Deal with Grief

"God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

(Matthew 5:4)

Grief is a powerful state of mind that everyone will experience in their lifetime. It is not pleasant because it involves the loss of someone or something that we truly loved. There are many levels of grief. The grief I felt in the passing away of my parents was much more severe and painful than the grief I experienced when our German Shepherd died suddenly. Some of you have experienced great loss; perhaps you have been fired, and you are grieving not being able to work and provide currently.

My friend, Dr. Dan Summerlin, recently wrote an article on this topic of grief. I first saw it published online at Kentucky Today. The title of the article is, "Grief Helps Begin the Healing Process." Dan is a seasoned and gifted pastor. Last year he resigned after serving 22 years as the senior pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Kentucky. He is very respected by many in the Southern Baptist Convention. He has a PhD in Systematic Theology, is an avid Alabama fan, and enjoys powerlifting (some heavy weights, I must say)! I have much respect for him and all his family, and I believe his words on grief will minister to you profoundly. Thanks, Dan, for letting us publish your article for our readers here at DFEA.

Grief is something that everyone experiences at some point in life. Yet, what many people do not realize is that, in a strange and meaningful way, grief is connected to something beautiful — love. The truth is, we only grieve because we have the capacity to love. Grief is the emotional cost of caring and loving. Without love, there would be no grief.

That is why grief hurts. We lost something or someone we love, and we miss them. Grief is always about loss.

We grieve when a loved one dies.
We grieve when we lose a job.
We grieve when a pet dies.
We grieve when friends move away or relationships end.
We grieve when we receive a new health diagnosis.

We even grieve when we experience big changes, such as moving to a new town, realizing we're no longer as healthy as we once were, or when our favorite team loses.

Grief shows up whenever we feel something meaningful is missing. And the only way to deal with grief is to go through it, not around it, not by ignoring it, but by facing it. This is always painful, but healing comes through that pain.

Some people try to hold on to their grief for a long time. They think they're being strong or that it's normal, but staying stuck in grief can be unhealthy. Others may seem to move on too quickly and they do not reconcile their loss.

Grief is common, but everyone handles grief differently, and that's okay. For some, it takes longer than most and others go through the process quickly. We are all different, but the key is accepting you are going to go through the process.

Tomorrow we will share the conclusion of Dan Summerlin's article on grief.

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Podcast of the Week

The Titus Ten: The Gospel

Pastor Danny continues his series on the Apostle Paul's letter to Titus and its application to us today (especially to men) by discussing our brokenness and need for healing that can only come from Christ.

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