God’s Healing for Life’s Losses:
How to Find Hope When You’re Hurting
Post 21: Finding God When We Can’t Find Answers
How to Find Hope When You’re Hurting
Post 21: Finding God When We Can’t Find Answers
What about you? Yesterday we explored how we can journey with others helping them to move from depression, alienation, and separation to comfort through communion with Christ and connection with Christians. But what about your path from depression to comfort?
Whether you are reflecting on your past suffering or experiencing current grief, here are a few suggestions and questions. I’ve designed them to help you to move from depression to comfort— experiencing the presence of God in the presence of suffering—a Presence that empowers me to survive scars and plants the seed of hope that I may yet thrive.
Don’t try to address every suggestion. Pick a couple that connect with you.
My Comfort/Communion Journey
1. When you are ready to give up, ready to give in, what empowers you to draw a line in the sane of retreat? How does communion with Christ help you to say, “Yes, I have a scar, but it is neither fatal nor final”?
2. Comfort originally meant co-fortitude. How does your connection with Christ fortify you? How does it en-courage you—pour courage into you?
3. Deep faith as opposed to naïve faith, walks in the dark. In your dark night of the soul, how can you invite in the One Who is the Light of the World?
4. Jacob (Genesis 32) teaches us that tenacious wrestling with God results in painful yet profitable comfort through communion. Wrestle with God. Tell Him everything.
5. In our suffering, God divulges more of Himself. When our heart is grieved, God is the strength of our heart (Psalm 73:21-28). What will it look like for you to acknowledge your grief and groan to God for His strength?
6. Faith perceives that God feels our pain, joins us in our pain, even shares our pain In all our distress, He is distressed (Isaiah 63:9). Sharing your sorrow with God makes your sorrow endurable. Write a Psalm of Shared Sorrow to God.
7. Select and apply some of these comfort trialogues to your own journey.
“The Bible teaches that ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ It’s normal to hurt and to struggle when our internal pain seems incurable. How could you connect with Christ and the Body of Christ to find relief for your sadness over your scars?”
“Some wounds won’t be totally healed until heaven (Revelation 7). How can you connect to Christ’s resurrection power to face life with this wound?”
“What is your suffering teaching you about God’s power made perfect in your weakness?”
“If you were to write a Psalm 42, (David moving from confusion to comfort) what would you write?”
“Christ often comforts us through other Christians. Who is coming alongside to help and comfort you? How could you connect with other Christians so they could help you to bear your burdens?”
And Now What?
We’ve journeyed together from denial to candor, from anger to complaint/lament, from bargaining/works to crying out to God, and from depression to comfort/communion.
In the world’s model of grieving, the next and final stage is “acceptance.” The Word’s way actually offers four more stages on our journey. They move far beyond acceptance.
Join us in the coming days as we explore: waiting, wailing, weaving, and worshipping. Join us as we find God even when we may not find answers.
Whether you are reflecting on your past suffering or experiencing current grief, here are a few suggestions and questions. I’ve designed them to help you to move from depression to comfort— experiencing the presence of God in the presence of suffering—a Presence that empowers me to survive scars and plants the seed of hope that I may yet thrive.
Don’t try to address every suggestion. Pick a couple that connect with you.
My Comfort/Communion Journey
1. When you are ready to give up, ready to give in, what empowers you to draw a line in the sane of retreat? How does communion with Christ help you to say, “Yes, I have a scar, but it is neither fatal nor final”?
2. Comfort originally meant co-fortitude. How does your connection with Christ fortify you? How does it en-courage you—pour courage into you?
3. Deep faith as opposed to naïve faith, walks in the dark. In your dark night of the soul, how can you invite in the One Who is the Light of the World?
4. Jacob (Genesis 32) teaches us that tenacious wrestling with God results in painful yet profitable comfort through communion. Wrestle with God. Tell Him everything.
5. In our suffering, God divulges more of Himself. When our heart is grieved, God is the strength of our heart (Psalm 73:21-28). What will it look like for you to acknowledge your grief and groan to God for His strength?
6. Faith perceives that God feels our pain, joins us in our pain, even shares our pain In all our distress, He is distressed (Isaiah 63:9). Sharing your sorrow with God makes your sorrow endurable. Write a Psalm of Shared Sorrow to God.
7. Select and apply some of these comfort trialogues to your own journey.
“The Bible teaches that ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ It’s normal to hurt and to struggle when our internal pain seems incurable. How could you connect with Christ and the Body of Christ to find relief for your sadness over your scars?”
“Some wounds won’t be totally healed until heaven (Revelation 7). How can you connect to Christ’s resurrection power to face life with this wound?”
“What is your suffering teaching you about God’s power made perfect in your weakness?”
“If you were to write a Psalm 42, (David moving from confusion to comfort) what would you write?”
“Christ often comforts us through other Christians. Who is coming alongside to help and comfort you? How could you connect with other Christians so they could help you to bear your burdens?”
And Now What?
We’ve journeyed together from denial to candor, from anger to complaint/lament, from bargaining/works to crying out to God, and from depression to comfort/communion.
In the world’s model of grieving, the next and final stage is “acceptance.” The Word’s way actually offers four more stages on our journey. They move far beyond acceptance.
Join us in the coming days as we explore: waiting, wailing, weaving, and worshipping. Join us as we find God even when we may not find answers.
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