Hope In Grief
From time to time, all of us experience true sadness. But sadness doesn't have to be a secret part of our life that we try to ignore. In this blog post, we discuss three truths about finding hope in times of sorrow.
This is part 4 in a series on Good Grief. Catch up on the rest of the series below:
Part 1: What Is Good Grief? How to Find Hope In Your Grief
Part 2: Hope In Grief: 3 Practical Tips to Get Through Denial, Shock, & Bargaining
Part 3: Hope In Grief: How to Bring Your Anger to God
True sadness is a real, universal part of the human experience. Sadness is a natural reaction to a world with sin, death, suffering, war, starvation, and injustice. In times of loss and grief, this sadness is especially profound.
What should we do with this sadness? Where do we find the love of Jesus in this brokennes?
Here are three truths about sadness in our broken world, and how it can bring us closer to God and others around us.
#1. Sadness Is Necessary
For those of us who are in Christ, we have experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ in that God Himself came in the flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and was resurrected again. When we accepted Him in faith as our Lord and Savior, He entered into our very hearts and cleansed us from all unrighteousness. We are redeemed in Jesus Christ and can stand before a holy God, who sees us and says: “You are cleansed by the blood of my Son.”
This is absolutely worth having joy about! We should celebrate this truth all the time.
However, that doesn’t mean we are always experiencing joy.
In moments of loss, grief, or when supporting others through their trials, we're not always filled with joy. And that's okay. Even Jesus experienced deep sorrow. Reflecting on Matthew 26, we see Jesus troubled in spirit, expressing his anguish to his disciples. His life teaches us that it's not only acceptable but also sacred to acknowledge and share our sorrows openly.
“And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
– Matthew 26:37-38 ESV
Further, our sadness is a prophetic sign to a dying world that it is not how it's supposed to be.
As Christians, we believe in the God who made all of heaven and earth. Every day of creation, He declared “it is good.” On the last day, he said “it is very good.”
Then sin entered the world and broke God’s perfect design. This is the state we live in today: a broken world full of death. But this is not where the story ends.
Jesus paid for this sin on the cross, offering forgiveness to all who would believe. As believers, we look forward to one of the last promises in the Bible, where God says: “Behold, I make all things new.” When Jesus reigns eternally, we get to participate in the eternal kingdom of God.
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
– John 16:33 ESV
Our sadness is a prophetic sign to those around us that it is not good, but there's hope. We don't grieve as those without hope. So sadness is necessary, and sadness is a prophetic sign to a dying world of the joy and hope of Jesus Christ.
#2. The Love of Jesus Is Found at the Intersection of Joy & Sadness
Love is the point.
• “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 ESV
• “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39
• “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” – 1 John 4:7-8
If God's love sits in this place of primacy, then joy is the primary emotion we experience when love is received and grief is the primary negative emotion when love is lost or broken.
So, in a broken world, love is found at the intersection of joy and grief.
This is evident in the person of Jesus Christ.
“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
– Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Joy and grief are brought together by Christ. The most grievous, sorrowful thing in human history, in all of creation, is the Son of God being crucified. But it was the joy set before him that Jesus endured that sorrow and pain on the cross.
#3. Sorrow Is an Invitation
Our sorrow is an invitation into deeper communion with God.
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
– Psalm 56:8 NLT
God not only keeps track of blessings, but also He keeps track of your sorrows. This is an invitation to press deeper into communion with God, through our sadness and sorrow.
Our sorrows are also an invitation into deeper community with friends. What does Jesus do in Matthew 26?
“And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
– Matthew 26:37-38 ESV
When Jesus is experiencing sorrow unto death, he invites his friends into that sorrow. He steps into community.
As you experience sorrow, follow the example of Jesus. Step into deeper community and then step into deeper, purposeful intimacy with the Father. Because Jesus's prayer doesn't stop here.
“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’”
– Matthew 26:39 ESV
This theme of bearing one another's burden and stepping into deeper intimacy and communion with God in our sorrow is all over the scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, there are invitations for our sorrow and grief to become points of intimacy with God.
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor…Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
– Romans 12:10-15 ESV
What About Depression?
Depression and anxiety are common mental health struggles that impact millions of people across the world. Have you ever heard people call depression a “lack of faith” or even a sin? This is a misconception.
Depression is not a lack of faith, nor is it a sin to experience depression. Depression, like grief and sorrow, is an invitation to return to the joy of the Lord.
Looking back at the joy-grief paradigm, there are extremes in either direction. If you just want to be happy all the time, “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” you are entering into escapism and avoidance. When we experience depression, we are falling deeper on the grief side of the paradigm. On either side, this is an opportunity to remember the love of Jesus, the hope of eternal life, and the joy of the Lord.
Final Thoughts on Grief & Hope
In our broken world, sadness is necessary. We should grieve this brokeness, but we don’t grieve without hope. In fact, the love of Jesus is found at the intersection of joy and sadness. Here, we can step into deeper communion with God and deeper community with others.
If there's anything that we can do to support you in your journey and in this chapter of life, please don't hesitate to reach out. You’re not in this alone!
This is part 4 in a series on Good Grief.