This article originally appeared on the Devotable blog on August 29, 2019. Read the entire article at this link or click below to listen to the devotional being read, with commentary by Devotable's founder, Landen Melton.
Engaging Grief with Hope:
Responding Biblically to Our Sorrows
as featured at Devotable
Grief can often feel like a bully. It’s not uncommon for those who have suffered the loss of a loved one to be overtaken by waves of sorrow when they least expect it. Sometimes it’s a simple sight or smell that brings us to our knees; we’ll find ourselves head-in-hand, weeping as if the loss happened afresh. These moments are a stark reminder of the brokenness and pain that ravishes this world, and they expose the tender scars which emboss our bereaved, broken hearts.
When grief invades our day, it’s disorienting. For a moment, we’re thrown off balance by it: tears blur our vision, our posture crumples, and all other thoughts are doused by a jet-stream of pain. Grief floods our memories as blood to a wound—we loved, we lost, and we’re made to feel the reality of it once again.
Even though grief can be aggressive, pushing it back is not helpful. Grief doesn’t demand to be overcome—it brashly appeals to our hearts, crying, Hear me! This hurts! In short, grief requests our engagement. While some may choose to silence their sorrows through self-medication, followers of Christ are called to engage their grief with hope. Christian hope is not meant to cancel out our griefs and sorrows, but is meant to sustain and comfort us in them and ultimately redeem us from them.
When grief invades our day, it’s disorienting. For a moment, we’re thrown off balance by it: tears blur our vision, our posture crumples, and all other thoughts are doused by a jet-stream of pain. Grief floods our memories as blood to a wound—we loved, we lost, and we’re made to feel the reality of it once again.
Even though grief can be aggressive, pushing it back is not helpful. Grief doesn’t demand to be overcome—it brashly appeals to our hearts, crying, Hear me! This hurts! In short, grief requests our engagement. While some may choose to silence their sorrows through self-medication, followers of Christ are called to engage their grief with hope. Christian hope is not meant to cancel out our griefs and sorrows, but is meant to sustain and comfort us in them and ultimately redeem us from them.
Hope without grief is unsustainable and will not withstand the day of incurable pain. Grief without hope is uninformed and forgets the resurrected Christ. But grief and hope engaged on parallel tracks of faith offers breathing room for the bereaved and solace for the mourner.
Christine M. Chappell
Author/Writer/Speaker
Christine Chappell is the author of Clean Home, Messy Heart and Help! My Teen is Depressed (forthcoming with Shepherd Press March 2020). She is the host of The Hope + Help Project podcast and has completed biblical counseling certificates with the Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship. Christine's writing has been featured at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Risen Motherhood, Servants of Grace, Thrive Moms, & more.
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