How does abiding in Christ equip the believer to deal with loss? When we suffer personal bereavement, it reveals not only the value we place on who (or what) was taken away, but also the adequacy of the resources we are depending upon during our time of grief. We all face various kinds of loss as we travel on our pilgrimage:

• the loss of others in death,
• the loss of our health,
• the loss of finances or possessions,
• the loss of a friendship,
• the loss of a job,
• the loss of a marriage in divorce,
• the loss of a pet…

Moving to a new job and community triggers a sense of loss of friends left behind. Our response to grief helps us evaluate what we are trusting in for security and fulfillment… Read the rest of this Grace Note (“Dealing with Loss”) here.

Grief is a challenge everyone faces sooner or later, and is a need chaplains minister to regularly.

When grief becomes complicated (such as when the process is hindered) it becomes a presenting problem that may lead someone to seek Biblical counseling.

Suggested Resources

1. Perhaps the most widely used turn key program for small groups is Grief Share, that features videos and a workbook. www.griefshare.org

2. The Exchanged Life Counseling track of GFI has the Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook (by June Hunt) as one of the required books. One of the 50 topics covered in that book is dealing with grief.

3. Paul Billheimer’s book, Don’t Waste Your Sorrows, has a deeper life perspective.
“Billheimer encourages you not to waste your sorrows, but embrace them with an attitude that will ensure they produce God’s best in you. It will bring a brand-new joy and purpose to every circumstance that comes your way.” CLCpublications.com

4. Grief Rewritten is recent publication by our sister ministry, VCLI.org. It is “A 10-session journey that helps people experience God’s nearness in their deepest pain. Whether grief comes through the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, a painful diagnosis, or the quiet death of a dream…
grief changes us. But with God, grief doesn’t have the final word—He does.” VCLI.org store

5. One of my favorite resources is the ministry of Music for the Soul. Their album on the grief journey is titled Drink Deep. It is very insightful and comforting. You can listen/share online, as a digital download, or purchase it as an audio CD. Music for the Soul.org

One of the indications we are handling grief from an Abiding Life relationship is that we seek to comfort others:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

Although the grief journey varies according to the nature of the loss and one’s personality, knowing Jesus Christ as Lamb, Lord, Life, Liberator and Leader is always important to healing the emotional wounds redemptively.

JBW