I’ve had a number of clients going through the grieving process lately, so I wanted to review the different stages of grief.
Remember that God never intended for us to feel grief, so it’s toxic to our body, soul and spirit.
This is why Isaiah tells us that Messiah is the One who can carry our grief and sorrow.
The first stage of grief is denial, numbness and shock…. “this can’t be happening”…”this is just a bad dream that I’m going to wake up from.”
This stage usually lasts throughout the funeral process or the first few days of the major change in our lives.
Then, we transition to the Regret Stage where we are hit with the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” thoughts.
Satan loves this stage where we beat ourselves up with ‘what if’ statements like, “what if I had done this instead… it’s all my fault that….”
As the true extent of our loss sets in, so can depression which can manifest with sleep and appetite disturbances, low energy and poor concentration, and crying spells.
Satan hammers hard with feelings of loneliness, emptiness, isolation, and self-pity.
His goal is to trap a person in this stage.
Along with depression can come anger as a person feels abandoned, helpless and impotent.
This is when Satan will accuse God of not being loving or trustworthy because He took our loved one away, allowed our spouse to leave or our job status to change.
The sign that we are processing grief by releasing it to God is reaching the Acceptance Stage.
It’s not easy to get there.
For me, what’s helped is purposing to love the person enough to rejoice with them that they are in glory with Jesus.
I can’t be selfish and demand their return.
It has also helped to focus on the glorious reunion that awaits us at the Rapture.
Now, other losses other than death have to be processed too.
Divorce, job loss… all change for that matter, produces a sense of grief.
In each situation, giving over the painful emotions and getting to the point of acceptance are the keys to not getting trapped in regret, depression and anger.
Remember, the only person we can control is ourselves.
So, keeping godly goals and desires in perspective is critical to stabilizing our emotions.
Beloved, allow the Lord Jesus to lead you through the grieving process.
Nothing that occurs in your life ever catches Him by surprise.
He has a plan for you. It’s a great plan. He will overcome every evil that Satan launches at us.
Focus on doing the next thing His puts in front of you in His strength and for His glory.
Doing this will keep you mindful of Him and protect you from Satan’s traps.
Blessings,
Robyn