As some of you may know, my boyfriend just recently moved out to Seattle. Over the past week, I’ve had several individuals come up to me and ask the somewhat rhetorical question, “Are you sad?” I am touched that so many people have taken an interest in my well being and have felt loved as close friends have tried to comfort me. Still, unfortunately, the answer is yes. I am quite sad.
But that’s not really a problem. I’m allowed to feel this way for the time being. But I don’t particularly want to spend my last semester in school wallowing in self pity, so I thought I should look into how the Bible says to deal with grief. (I know, the topic of grief is not exactly a cheery one for a Monday Meditation. But this is something on my heart, and I know every person suffers through grief at some point in their life, whether it be losing a loved one to death or in my case, Microsoft.)
What I found were three main ways to positively deal with grief. The first, most obviously, would be through prayer. 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” coupled with Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This week, I’ve been focusing on not only giving my troubles to God, but truly believing he will comfort me. And it has been helping.
Psalms 30:11-12 say “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” Ok, so I’ll admit it; I was a little angry at God for my situation. I didn’t think it was fair that I met Ryan so close to his graduation, and I especially didn’t like the fact that his place of employment had to be three time zones away. Part of me felt like God was just putting me through emotional turmoil for little to no reason. But you know, it’s really hard to be angry at someone when you’re singing praises to Him. Worshipping God and thanking Him for all the blessings He has given me has helped change my attitude quite a bit.
But the third thing I’ve found is the one that has helped me the most in the past. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says, “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. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” While I could be spending my time trying to focus on myself and my sorrow, I should instead find someone else who is in pain. God can use me to comfort others, and in doing so, I too will be comforted. This semester, I hope to focus less on what God can do for me, and instead on what I can do for others. I challenge you to do the same.
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