Dealing with grief is an extremely challenging process. Loss can come in various forms, such as death, the end of a relationship, loss of a job or health, and it can cause deep sorrow. The unexpected suffering can catch us off-guard and leave us feeling unprepared. It can be a challenge to navigate situations that deviate from our plans. In this post, we will explore how to handle sorrow and grief with hope.
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How To Handle Sorrow and Grief With Hope
As Christians, it is important to be cautious of the enemy’s traps while dealing with negative emotions like sorrow. During the low points in our lives, the enemy tries to take advantage of us, hoping to lead us away from the right path. Therefore, we must protect our heart, so that we do not end up making wrong choices. We must remain vigilant against grumbling, getting angry, losing faith, and falling into despair or sin.
According to the teachings of Christianity, death and sorrow were never part of God’s original plan for the world. They entered our lives as a result of humanity’s sinful nature. However, the Bible promises that a day will come when we will be free from death and sadness, and all tears will be wiped away. Until then, we can take comfort in the hope and promises given to us by God. He offers us eternal hope, assures us of His presence in times of grief, and guarantees that a day will come when we will experience no pain or heartache.
Run To God In Times of Sorrow and Weeping
When we experience times of sorrow, it’s important to recognize that our emotions are normal and understandable. The passing of a loved one is a time for mourning, and even Jesus himself wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:35).
As Christians, we should bring our grief and sadness to God. God doesn’t demand that we mask our true feelings, but wants us to find solace in his comforting presence. God tells us to come and cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). He understands our pain and invites us to approach Him with our heavy hearts. Our emotions are valid, and God encourages us to pour out our grief and sadness to Him. We don’t have to pretend to be happy; instead, we can run to God as a hurting child seeking comfort from a loving parent. God assures us that He cares for us and is ready to bear our burdens.
As children of God, we have hope that we must hold on to even in our times of sorrow. In the Bible, God calls those who have died sleeping, and He assures us that just as Jesus died and rose again, he gives us hope that we will see our loved ones also.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 ESV
Even when we don’t know whether our loved one believed in Jesus, we must trust God. The Bible reminds us that the Lord is patient with us. He does not want anyone to perish but wants us all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The truth is we do not know what happens in a person’s final moments of life, but God does. The thief on the cross turned to Christ in the last hours of life (Luke 23:39-43), and Jesus promised that he would enter heaven. We must trust God and remember that He decides who enters His heaven.
Receive Comfort From Other Christians During Times of Sorrow and Loss
All real, lasting comfort comes from God because He is the Father of compassion and comfort. As Christians, God promises to comfort us, and afterward, He wants us to be able to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1). When we reach out to others for support during times of sorrow, we allow a chain reaction to flow from our Father to His children.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 ESV
Meditate On God’s Word During Times of Sorrow
All of our hope as Christians is in Jesus. We build faith by hearing the Word of God and reminding ourselves of the price that Jesus paid to one day help us never have to suffer again. Reminding ourselves of the promises found in the Word of God helps lift us from the right now moments of sorrow by helping us look toward a more hopeful tomorrow. We can be comforted when we meditate on God’s Word during times of grief.
Our Heavenly Father is a God of hope, and He wants to heal the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3). Jesus said that blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4), and Paul reminds us that even when we go through sorrow and pain here on Earth, it does not compare to the glory that one day awaits us (Romans 8:18). Jesus promised that He was going away to prepare a place for us, and He promised to take us there one day (John 14:1-4). As hard as it seems, we must hold on to the hope found in God’s Word.
Pray and Trust God During Times of Sorrow and Grief
As we work through our sadness and loss, prayer is our greatest weapon against the enemy. When we pray to God, we communicate that we trust Him. As we pray to God, He will never turn us away. When we go through moments of sadness, we should pray even more earnestly, just as Jesus did when He faced great sorrow before going to the cross (Matthew 26: 36-46). We gain the strength to face our sorrows when we pray. Just as Jesus poured himself out in prayer to God, we must do the same.
Great post. Very inspiring and beautifully written.
Thanks so much for the encouraging comment. May God bless you for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed the post.