Dealing with Grieving

Sermon – Grieving
January 15, 2010
Phil 3:13-14

Introduction

• This morning Frank and I and maybe some of the rest of us were at the funeral for Officer Robbie McElrath
• Officer McElrath was shot in the face at point-blank range, in the morning of January 2.
• I know that many of us knew Joanna or Robin James or both
• we may even have been close friends with them, and have had close ties to them
• they have been arrested and are in custody, after an intense investigation into the killing
• we may wonder how could this happen?
• how could someone we know as a friend, do such a horrific thing?
• this evening, am not going to address how this could be possible, nor will I discuss the perceived rights and wrongs about the case
• instead I want to discuss how we can deal with grief
• because most of Susanville is in mourning right now
• what I do want to talk about, is how we can deal with the grief

Remember that which we have lost

• good memories
• bad memories
• tell stories
• learn lessons
• Psalm 78:3-4
• discuss, share
• talk to God about what you are feeling
• because we may become an emotional roller-coaster, depending on how close we were to the person
• find someone you trust who will listen to your emotional upheaval
• let the pain out of your system

Reconnect with good friends

• a good friend is someone you can go to and who will listen
• Prov 18:24
• a good friend is someone who will pull you up, and not down
• build bridges
• what kind of bridges do we build – solid or flimsy
• allow people into your heart
• learn to trust again

Refocus your life

• refocus your life
• Matt 6:33
• determine the direction you will take, and stick to it
• surrender your life to God and ask Him to direct your steps
• Prov 3:5-6
• accept the past as having happened, and then move forward
• Phil 3:13-14

Results

• as you work through this process, you will find your emotional episodes will start to become less intense
• a time will come to let go of the past and start reaching forward
• your grief will become manageable, and a natural part of life, that helps our emotions catch up with a new reality
• on the other side of your grief, is a richer life
• richer in the sense of depth
• we have been down the well, and we have gotten back out of it
• Rom 8:28
• God wants to make something special out of our lives
• the painful experiences are as important to us as the mountaintop experiences