16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
At our Grief Share group last night we had a discussion over the incredible interplay of God's holy spirit in each of our lives- God the Father, God the son, God the holy spirit. What was amazing about this point was how God can be in all places at one time! He is there in heaven where our loved ones are celebrating and He is present in our lives as we struggle through our grief journey- as we miss our loved ones who formerly made us smile and brought their own uniqueness into our lives.
Hebrews 1:3 reminds us with these words about Jesus Christ- "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,".
Then Jesus reminded in us shortly before he was taken by the Roman guards to be judged, sentenced and crucified in the gospel of John 16:5, "Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."
The advocate is God's holy spirit that is freely given to us when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives. We are again reminded of the importance of staying connected with God with these words from John 15, "I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing."
The natural inclination for many of us after a loved one dies is to withdraw from God and blame him for the incredible pain in our lives, but this very act alone will cause us to continue to needlessly suffer while using destructive coping methods like alcohol and or drugs to desperately 'erase our pain' without seeing the long-term effects those things will have on our bodies. We are reminded through Exodus 15:26 that God is our healer, "I am the Lord, who heals you." As we run to God with all of our pain, all of our messiness and all of our anger God will help us walk through the journey, not around it like all of those other destructive methods will do.
God's gift of the holy spirit and his reminder that Jesus Christ is the exact representation of his being brings God to a personal level in our lives! I have this image of God through Jesus walking right beside us while carrying on this conversation and reminding us from his words from holy scripture like Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake you." Jesus, my friends, is there with you for the long haul as you continue to struggle with the daily emotions of grief.
Our God is truly an amazing God!
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