Devotional: Grieve But Not As Those Who Have No Hope

1 Thessalonians 4:13(NASB)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

We often try to avoid grieving.  It's uncomfortable.  We don't want others to see our tears.  We want life to just go on as it has and put uncomfortable things behind us.  But when we lose a loved one, sometimes the tears just come when we least expect it.  Sometimes we feel like we are weak if we succumb to them and find ourselves feeling depressed and missing our loved ones.

But the Bible says that grieving is okay.  The verse above assumes that we will grieve when we lose a loved one. We are not weak if we grieve the loss of our loved ones who have died.  No, we are NORMAL if we grieve.  It would be abnormal to not grieve. 

So, we grieve, but not like those who have no hope.  We have hope that if they were believers, we will see them again one day.  We have hope, if they were believers, that their suffering is done and they are in the presence of their Lord.  So we grieve because we miss them, but it's grief that looks forward to the future.

So how can we get through grief?  Just be with it.  When it comes, let the tears roll. Don't stuff them down. You have to feel in order to heal. God designed tears to be cleansing.  So let them come and miss your loved one with the hope that only God can give.