It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: Grief

Connect

When you think of the California Redwoods, what comes to mind? If someone in your group have traveled there, tell about that trip.

What did you think about Wolfgang comparing our lives to the rings of the tree? Would the rings of your tree be evenly spaced, or would there be areas where the rings look very different?

Engage
Wolfgang compared two ways of handling grief:

The World’s Way: Bury your feelings, replace the loss, and let time heal.
God’s Way: Feel your feelings, review the loss, and let God heal.

Read Isaiah 53:3. Even Jesus, who was fully human as well as fully God, experienced grief. Using the following verses, what can we learn from Him about how to handle grief?

Matthew 26:38
Matthew 27:46
John 11:33

Read the following verses and discuss: what do they tell us to do with our grief and what promises do they give us?

Psalm 55:22
Psalm 62:8
Psalm 77:1-2

What do these verses tell us about who can help us in our grief?

Psalm 34:18
Psalm 147:3
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Apply
What is an action you can take from what you have learned from this sermon and discussion?

Some examples:
Take your grief to God in prayer
Share your grief with someone
Sign up for GriefShare
Attend Surviving the Holidays
Consider ways to respond to other people’s grief
Read Psalms of lament (over a third of the Psalms are laments!)
Write your own song of lament (there are websites that can help guide you)