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Facing Your Grief by Max Lucado �David sang this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and gave orders that everyone in Judah learn it by heart.� (II Samuel 1:17-18 MSG) David called the nation to mourning. He rendered weeping a public policy. He refused to gloss over or soft-pedal death. He faced it, fought it, challenged it. But he didn�t deny it. As his son Solomon explained, �There is�a time to mourn� (Eccles. 3:1, 4 NIV). Give yourself some. Face your grief with tears, time, and�one more�face your grief with truth. Paul urged the Thessalonians to grieve, but he didn�t want the Christians to �carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word.� (I Thess. 4:13 MSG). God has the last word on death. And, if you listen, he will tell you the truth about your loved ones. They�ve been dismissed from the hospital called Earth. You and I still roam the halls, smell the medicines, and eat green beans and Jell-O off plastic trays. They, meanwhile, enjoy picnics, inhale springtime, and run through knee-high flowers. You miss them like crazy, but can you deny the truth? They have no pain, doubt, or struggle. They really are happier in heaven. And won�t you see them soon? Life blisters by at mach speed. �You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man�s life is but a breath� (Ps. 39:5 NIV). When you drop your kids off at school, do you weep as though you�ll never see them again? When you drop your spouse at the store and park the car, do you bid a final forever farewell? No. When you say, �I�ll see you soon,� you mean it. When you stand in the cemetery and stare down at the soft, freshly turned earth and promise, �I�ll see you soon,� you speak the truth. Reunion is a splinter of an eternal moment away. So go ahead, face your grief. Give yourself time. Permit yourself tears. God understands. He knows the sorrow of a grave. He buried his son. But he also knows the joy of resurrection. And, by his power, you will too. [Facing Your Giants] Copyright [Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006] Max Lucado Used by permission
