Grief

by John Thomas

Grief is defined in Webster's as 1) Great unhappiness; 2) Ruin; failure

Why then might I say grief is good? Becasue it is a release of those things which hurt us. But to release ourselves from those bad and hurtful things, we must be willing to let go of them.

Grief is a very real emotion. Someteims we express our grief and someteims we tend to suppress it. God expects us to grieve when we are brokenhearted. Jesus himself experienced grief upon the death of his friend Lazarus for example. ( John 11:35 (our shortest verse in the Bible,) "Jesus wept.")

Unxpressed grief can leave us sick both physicially and emotionally. In our societ, we've taught our children not to cry, because that would be showing our weakness. We must be willing to give our burdens to Christ. If not, we will learn just how weak we really are by ourselves.

Isaiah 61:3 pictures mourning for us in prophecy and how Christ will make it better by trading:

1) beauty for ashes
2) oil of joy for mourning
3) garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness

What a deal for us! All we have to do is let go of our mourning and let hm turn our misery into blessings from above.

"Blessed are they which mourn, for they shall be comforted" ( Matthew 5:2). The promise in the words from the Ultimate Comforter Jesus Christ.

The prophecy from Isaiah 53:4(a), "Sure he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows."

Good Grief? What's that? Well, I see it as a means by which we lose our sorrows and gain our richest blessing, Our Comforter!

January 10, 1999

Related Articles:

Youth and Grief -Apr 16, 2000
It Hurts! -Jan 04, 1997

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Grief by John Thomas Grief is defined in Webster's as 1) Great unhappiness; 2) Ruin; failure Why then might I say grief is good? Becasue it is a release of those things which hurt us. But to release ourselves from those bad and hurtful things, we must be willing to let go of them. Grief is a very real emotion. Someteims we express our grief and someteims we tend to suppress it. God expects us to grieve when we are brokenhearted. Jesus himself experienced grief upon the death of his friend Lazarus for example. ( John 11:35 (our shortest verse in the Bible,) "Jesus wept.") Unxpressed grief can leave us sick both physicially and emotionally. In our societ, we've taught our children not to cry, because that would be showing our weakness. We must be willing to give our burdens to Christ. If not, we will learn just how weak we really are by ourselves. Isaiah 61:3 pictures mourning for us in prophecy and how Christ will make it better by trading: 1) beauty for ashes 2) oil of joy for mourning 3) garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness What a deal for us! All we have to do is let go of our mourning and let hm turn our misery into blessings from above. "Blessed are they which mourn, for they shall be comforted" ( Matthew 5:2). The promise in the words from the Ultimate Comforter Jesus Christ. The prophecy from Isaiah 53:4(a), "Sure he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." Good Grief? What's that? Well, I see it as a means by which we lose our sorrows and gain our richest blessing, Our Comforter! January 10, 1999 Related Articles: Youth and Grief -Apr 16, 2000 It Hurts! -Jan 04, 1997 Print this Article Discuss this Article Back to the Sermon Page	Mt. Juliet Church of Christ 1940 N. Mt. Juliet Road P.O.Box 248 Mt.Juliet, TN 37122-0248 (615)758-2274 Fax:615-754-2351 Email Worship Services: Sunday Early Worship: 8AM Sunday Bible Study: 9:15AM Sunday Late Worship: 10:15AM Night Worship: 6PM Wednesday Bible Study: 7PM