The Gift exchange Message 3

Give God Your Grief and He will Give you your Joy

The Gift Exchange, Week Three

Welcome to week two of The Gift Exchange! We’re talking about the gifts God gives us in exchange for the humility of opening up to him and trusting him with our biggest hurts, habits, and hang-up’s.

Overview…

· Week One – Give God your worry and he’ll give you peace.

· Week Two – Give God your hurts and he’ll give you healing.

· Week Three – Give God your grief and he’ll give you joy.

My maternal grandfather died of cancer on December 1, 1991.

My paternal grandfather died of cancer on December 1, 2002.

Eleven years apart, but on the same day, and right before Christmas.

Those Christmases were especially hard for my parents and my family, but even now, every year at Christmas, I think of my grandfathers and others that I’ve lost.

This side of eternity, grief is a reality. If you live long at all, you will experience grief and pain and loss. Welcome to life on earth.

Our normal plan for dealing with our grief is to wait silently.

· We deny our losses.

· We delay our pain.

· We distract ourselves.

God’s plan for our grief is to talk to him about it.

· To acknowledge the reality of our pain. Grief is actually a gift.

· To tell him about our pain and losses.

· To hear from him about his comfort.

David wrote Psalm 30 as a song for the dedication of the temple, and he again bares his heart before God and reflects on his own life experiences…

Remember that David had lost his best friend, Jonathan; his mentor, Samuel; his first wife, Michal’s, affection; the first baby that he had with Bathsheba; and much more…

Psalm 30 NASB95

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David. I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.” O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; You hid Your face, I was dismayed. To You, O Lord, I called, And to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness? “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

When you give God your grief, God gives you his joy.

That’s the deal he has promised. And it’s incredibly one-sided…

Isaiah 53:3 NLT

Isaiah 53:3 NASB95

He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

God comforts us NOW by reminding us that he has walked through grief himself and is willing to walk through it with us.

God comforts us LATER by removing every reason for grieving for all of eternity.

Revelation 21:1–5 NASB95

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”