Finding Purpose In the Pain -- The Emotions of Facing Hard Times with Peter
Certain Hope for Uncertain Times
Jeff Fuson
April 5, 2020

Today’s message will be mostly a story about Peter and Jesus. In the video today, I’m not gonna preach and share a lot of scriptures. Today, I simply want you to see the story of Peter and all his emotions and stages of grief as he works through the stormy season of Jesus heading to his death in Jerusalem and His crucifixion on a Roman cross.

I like Peter because he gives me hope. I see a lot of me in Peter, so I guess that’s why I like him so much. He’s often politically incorrect, he speaks before he thinks, he’s an action taker and sometimes his emotions lead the way more than his thinking.

So, let me encourage you to do a personal or family Bible study to learn more about the story of Peter and his stages of grief and look for ways that God can move you through your emotions and stages of grief as well.

Before we go much further if you’d like to see and hear more about emotions and grief and how to get through this emotional season we are in please go back and watch the ‘Daily Hope’ segments posted over the past week on the Phos Community Facebook page as this has been our topic all week.

Here are the six stages of grief. [ Sources: Kubler-Ross model of the Five Stages of Grief and ‘That Discomfort Your Feeling is Grief from March 23, 2020 Harvard Business Review’]
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
6. Finding Meaning – this is recent addition by David Kessler, a leading researcher on grief who helped come up with the original study on the 5 stages. He’s written a recent book about this called, ‘Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief.’

Here are key scripture references I built todays story-message around so that you can look them up and study them and their implications for yourself:

  1. Denial – Matthew 16:22-23; Luke 22:31-34
  2. Anger – Matthew 26:47-54; Luke 22:38
  3. Bargaining – Luke 22:35
  4. Depression – Luke 22:62
  5. Acceptance – John 21:2-14
  6. Making Meaning –John 21:15-19

[ You may certainly see other stages or ideas in here that others would find helpful. I’d love to hear your insights. Feel free to email me at Jeff@PhosChurch.com ]

You will find ‘Resurrection Purpose’ after your season of loss when Jesus comes to meet you in your grief.

Jesus will one day resurrect our purpose and make sense of our losses. But, not right now. It’s important to feel what you feel without being owned by your emotions. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and give space for your emotions to have motion without overwhelming yourself and everyone around you.

We will get through this together.
We will get through this with God’s help.
One day after this has past our purpose will be resurrected from what seems hopeless today.

Hope this helps.

ALL THE BEST,
Jeff