Thursday, April 2
All Kinds of Grief
“Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6). Peter names it: grief. What we experience in the times called trials is grief, the human response to loss. Whether it involves the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a pet, or perhaps a job, property, or a certain way of life, there is pain in the losing. The apostle Peter may not have been able to name the stages of grief as we know them, but he understood what grief expert David Kessler regards as the sixth, and most ultimate stage of grief: meaning. Except that Peter calls it faith. Our faith in God gives us a framework to find meaning in the experiences of life, which is the mark of recovery from grief.
As followers of Jesus Christ we learn that everything is ultimately about how God is working for our good. As we frame our story in Peter’s story—how he found the empty tomb, and then was restored by the Lord to a position of service and leadership in spite of his past denials, we join him in recognizing that the end of every disciple’s story is how each of us will share in Jesus’ divine glory when he is finally and fully revealed. Every day and every decision adds to this story of glorification, whether it is the triumph of his grace and forgiveness over our failures, or the crowning gratitude we feel when our faith has been proven through loving actions. Our greatest moments are when we have had a share in the coming of God’s kingdom. This is what gives meaning to our experiences, knowing that nothing that is not worth losing has been ultimately lost, when it is found in Christ.
Prayer: Dear God, you created me. You gave me all I have. You supervise my destiny. You purchased and won me from sin, death, and the devil, so that I might belong to you and live in your love. Thank you that nothing can separate me from the love that has been sealed upon me through Christ Jesus. When I get sad for the loss of life as I had known it, I ask for the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to minister to me. When I feel uncertain about what to expect going forward, I trust you will be with me to guide me and give me whatever will be needed in the moment. Thank you for your steadfast love to me. Amen.
