Grief

An unfortunate number of my friends are going through deep and profound grief right now. My heart hurts for them and I pray for them often and seriously. I know, however, that ultimately their grief journey is up to them. If you are in a time of grief, I would encourage you to find a verse that speaks to you (ask God to show you one) and hang on to that. Read it and reread it. Over and over and over. Daily and maybe even hourly. It will soak in. For many months it felt like my life depended on Jer. 29:4-14. I read this passage every day (often multiple times a day) and related to it because I felt like an exile. Those words were life to me and one of the main reasons I have a successful grief story. Later I did a study about widows in the Bible and some of the scriptures I found are listed below, along with some other scriptures that may help you in grief. I would encourage you to find a verse that speaks to YOU. It may be different than one that speaks to me or someone else. Words are so inadequate at a time like this, but The Word is not.

Scriptures for grief:

Psalm 23
Psalm 42
Psalm 56
Ps. 147:3
Is. 57:18
Matt. 5:4
Matt. 11:28-30
John 14:1-4, 16-18, 26-30
I Cor. 12:9-10
*I Thess. 4:13-18*
Heb. 4:14-16
Rev. 21:1-4

Widow Stories:

Gen. 38
1 Kings 7:13-14 (story of the son of a widow)
1 Kings 11:26,28 (story of the son of a widow)
1 Kings 17
Ruth
Mark 12:41-44 & Luke 21:1-4
Luke 2:36-38
Luke 7:12-15

Encouragement for widows:

Ex. 22:22-24
Deut. 10:17-18
Deut. 14:28-29
Deut. 16:11,14
Deut. 24:17
Deut. 24:19-21
Deut. 26:12-13
Deut. 27:19
Ps. 10:18
Ps. 68:5-6
Ps. 82:3-4
Ps. 94
Ps. 146:9
Prov. 15:25
Prov. 23:10-11
Is. 1:17
Is. 10:1-2
Is. 54:4-5
Jer. 7:6-7
Jer. 22:3
Jer. 49:11
Zech. 7:9-10
Mal. 3:5
Matt. 23:14
Mark 12:41-44
Luke 20:45-47
James 1:26-27

[This post was originally published as a Facebook note on Aug. 18, 2010.]