Hey Gang,
This week we begin a new 4-week series entitled "Navigating the Maze of Grief." This series looks at the universal nature of grief – we all experience it – and the biblical answer is found in the presence of God, the comfort of other believers, and the victory of the resurrected Christ.
Why is grief like a maze?
Is there such a thing as good grief?
Our lesson this week says that we can grieve with hope. Jesus grieved, so we know grief is good when done well.
How well do you deal with grief? Have you ever felt guilty just because you’re grieving? Ever had times when grief just seemed overwhelming? Ever worried whether it’s wrong to question God when you are grieving? Ever wondered if God really hears and sees your grief?
Watch this touching video below on the stages of grief through the eyes of a little girl:
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This week's lesson looks at the different human responses to loss and the hope Jesus gives to believers who grieve. We will explore three approaches to grief - the intellectual, the emotional, and the supernatural. It's the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus' friend - Lazarus.
I. AN INTELLECTUAL APPROACH TO GRIEF – JOHN 11:20-27
20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." 23 "Your brother will rise again," Jesus told her. 24 Martha said, "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. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told Him, "I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
What do people say, or want to say, to God during grief? Why can we come to God with thoughts and questions?
Martha misunderstood that Lazarus would rise that day. What do we Christians misunderstand about grief? How do we hurt each other with these misunderstandings?
How can we help each other – even when those who grieve in ways that might make us feel a little uncomfortable?
II. AN EMOTIONAL APPROACH TO GRIEF – JOHN 11:32-36
32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and told Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!" 33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. 34 "Where have you put him?" He asked. "Lord," they told Him, "come and see." 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"
How easily do you cry? What makes you cry: movies, books, sad stories, real life events of someone you care about, or what? How does your crying or lack of it make you feel?
Why do you think Jesus wept when He knew this story would have a happy ending?
III. A SUPERNATURAL APPROACH TO GRIEF – JOHN 11:43-44
43 After He said this, He shouted with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him and let him go."
Where have you seen claims of supernatural power in today’s world? How do you tend to respond to those claims?
For those who are part of the human family, and that includes all of us, grief in large and small ways touches our lives. We can take each other by the hand and walk together with God through the pain.
C. S. Lewis once said, “It is because God loves us that he makes us the gift of suffering. The pain is part of the happiness - that's the deal.”
The good news is that no matter how lonely we might feel in our grief, we don't have to face it alone. God sits right down next to us and cries with us. He holds our hand and our hearts. He shows us what to do, whether the grief is ours or for someone else. This study will help equip us to navigate through this maze we call grief.
Have a blessed rest of the week and let's pray that God will unfold His unfailing truths to each of us as we journey through this maze, together.
In His Love,
David & Susan
