Good Grief

GOOD GRIEF 1 PETER 1:1-6 July 28, 2019 2. Grief is Varied § § “grief” – definition: “the natural reaction to loss; deep sorrow” Isaiah 53:3 (ESV) 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. § 3. Grief is Complicated § 1 Peter 1:1–6 (ESV) 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, Trials are “variegated” – in other words, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. There is no end to the number and kind of different trials we will face. Another part of the variety of trials is that we experience the same event in different ways. Be sure and give grace to each other, not expecting that every other person is impacted by a death in the exact same way as you! There is a variety to these trials and that applies to how we individually respond to them. § In a little book written 50 years ago, Granger Westberg in “Good Grief” identifies ten stages of grief: shock, emotion, depression, physical distress, panic, guilt, anger, resistance, hope, and acceptance. Grief and how we interpret the event that caused the grief will become for each one of us, a “test”. Trials test our understanding of God’s love – test our faith in God – test our belief that God is Sovereign – that God is good – they test our willingness to go on with our own lives. 3 4. Grief Will One Day End § § 1. Grief is a Reality § § § Grieved à passive voice – something that happens to you – our response to outside events, actions, circumstances After that event takes place, we start to respond from within ourselves – our emotions, our spirit, even our bodies physically react to what has happened. There is no escaping the reality of grief. § 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV) “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.” But, what do we do until then? Psalm 116:9-10 gives answers: “I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”; 2 Corinthians 5:5 makes this promise: 5”He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”