I have been told many times that there are five stages of grief: Denial, angry, Bargaining depression acceptance. I wonder if God goes through some of these stages. I know I certainly have. I went to a funereal this week and as I sat in a pew to say goodbye to a person I never met but meant so much to my dear friend. I realized that grief effects us all in so many ways than just the five stages suggested. I have seen grief bring truth, healing, restoration to communities and to the calling that one, once lost. Grief can make you selfish and introverted, it can also awoken your heart to opportunities of selflessness and expression of love.
When it happens to you or someone close this is not what we see or feel, its the opposite. I think God's grief time after time has turned into expression of love: Genesis 6:6 say that God regrets making man due to there crazy mistakes but he turns that sadness into great doors of redemption.
In Matthew 9:36 say that Jesus saw the people harassed and helpless and he had compassion on them.
I am not a schooler or trying to change the word of God but I place myself in that passage and I feel saddened, deep lose for those in distress and I think good grief, what do you do in that situation and what does Jesus do? He builds up the disciples and creates opportunity to heal, serve, teach ,love for these people in distress then, now and always.
On a personal note: grief these pass week or shall I say loss has opened my eyes to the way people deal with it. Some mothers cling tightly to the children in hopes that grief will not infect them and there family , some have a new lease on life, others become lost in deep thought about the purpose of life and many of us carry on with no regard for the passing of the dead and all to some degree is good in the right balance but what its done to me is think that maybe, I need to seek Him in my grief not just on how to handle it but also how to rest in Him. The person that died wasn't a relative but its somehow trickled down and effected me through my outlook, my walk and even through my work /ministry. Questions have arisen : What am I doing? I'm I doing things right? How can I do things better and where do I stand on this and that? None bad but grief has brought somethings in to question....
Questions aren't bad, if the answers are searched out and somewhat answered. I have been told that there are five stages of Grief Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance, but what if there's another point to consider that when it says in the Bible to rejoice through, in our suffering that God knows something more then we do that Grief is Good.
