finding god in grief

8/11/2019 Finding God in Grief

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Finding God in Grief and Loss,

The Pathway to Wholeness

Frank Meadows, LCSW

MeadowsHealingPrayerCenter.com

Big House Church

October 13, 2013


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1.Dealing with grief

and loss is the

essence of why

people come forhealing and

counseling

sessions.


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a.# Deathof a parent, spouse, child or loved one,

stillborn child, abortion

b.#

Aging, Sickness, childhood disabilities, illnessesc. # Lost Opportunities: I wish I would have...., I wish I

would have finished college, I wish I had been

there for my children more often, Regrets, divorce, lost

opportunities

d.#

Life transitions: entering adolescence, leaving home,getting married, moving, military transitions, beginning

college, leaving college, midlife crisis, separation and

divorce, children being born, children leaving home,

retirement, old-age

e.#

Lost Kingdom opportunities: I wish I would have gone

into the area of ministry I was called to. Life compromises,

missed Gods' best for me. Marrying the wrong person, etc.


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2. The problem is that we bury,

suppress, deny, spiritualizeour pain and grief.


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3. So what do we do? How do we

effectively process our grief, walk byfaith and live life to the fullest?


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4. Grief and Loss TimelineExercise

0 15 30 6045


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5. Stages of Grief


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6. Biblical Kingdom Perspective

about Grief and Loss:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the

Father of mercies and God of all comfort,4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to

comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with

which we ourselves are comforted by God.

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so

also ourcomfort is abundant through Christ.

6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if

we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the

patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;

2 Corinthians 1:3-10 (NASB)


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7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are

sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our afflictionwhich came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond

our strength, so that we despaired even of life;

9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we

would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliverus, He on whom we have set our hope.And He will yet deliver us,


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7. Finding meaning in loss:

1 He has sent Me to heal the

brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty

to the captives, And the opening ofthe prison to those who are bound;

2To comfort all who mourn,

3 Toconsole those who mourn in

Zion, To give them beauty for

ashes, The oil of joy for

mourning, The garment of praise

for the spirit of heaviness;

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)


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1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the

town of Mary and her sister Martha

3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord,

behold, he whom You love is sick.

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not

unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of

God may be glorified through it.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble,

because he sees the light of this world.

8. The Story of Lazarus

John 11:1-40 (NKJV)


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10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the

light is not in him

14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that

you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already

been in the tomb four days21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been

here, my brother would not have died.

22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God,

God will give You."23 Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again.

(Note that she had faith but lacked a kingdom perspective)


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24 Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise again in the

resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do

you believe this?

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him,she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if You had

been here, my brother would not have died

39 Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of

him who was dead, said to Him, Lord, by this time there is a

stench, for he has been dead four days.

40 Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you would

believe you would see the glory of God?


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43 Now when He had said these

things, He cried with a loud voice,Lazarus, come forth!

44 And he who had died came out

bound hand and foot with grave

clothes, and his face was wrapped

with a cloth. Jesus said to them,

Loose him, and let him go.

45 Then many of the Jews who had

come to Mary, and had seen the

things Jesus did, believed in Him.

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the

dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said,

Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of

the people who are standing by I said this, that they may

believe that You sent Me.


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He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of

sorrows and acquainted with griefSurely He

has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,

Isaiah 53:3,4 (NKJV)


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Youve kept track of my every toss and turn

through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered

in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

Psalm 56:8 (MSG)


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How long will You forget me, O Lord? Forever? How longwill You hide Your face from me? How long must I lay up

cares within me and have sorrow in my heart day after day?

How long shall my enemy exalt himself over me? Consider

and answer me, O Lord my God; lighten the eyes [of my faith

to behold Your face in the pitchlike darkness], lest I sleep thesleep of death, Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed over him,

and those that trouble me rejoice when I am shaken.

Ive thrown myself headlong into your armsIm

celebrating your rescue. Im singing at the top of my

lungs, Im so full of answered prayers.

Psalm 13:1-4 (AMP)

Psalm 13:5,6 (MSG)

finding god in grief

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