Calvary's touch-Encourages you: Can anything good come from loss?

Can Anything Good Come from Loss?

When we are confronted with a loss, many times we feel unnerved and paralyzed by the pain. It's pretty hard for us to view a painful loss as an opportunity for positive change. But it is. We need to face the unsettling reality that change and loss are inevitably linked, and that they are unavoidable. Grief over a loss, because it is profoundly complicated, calls on us to make fundamental changes in our lives--changes that will either enrich or impoverish us.

Much of the struggle we face in dealing with a loss centers in the choice to change. Loss and pain will make us either bitter or better. Character is forged in the crucible of grief and loss. God calls on us to use even the painful circumstances of our lives to deepen our reliance on Him. It is against the backdrop of the darkness of painful losses that the goodness of our great God is revealed and experienced in ways we otherwise would never know.

It is important for us to understand the process we will go through (or are going through) when we experience loss. By understanding where we will be going, we will be better prepared to handle it when it does come.

What is the Process of dealing with Loss?

We must all learn for ourselves that grieving is a confusing and disorienting process that takes time. It is not something we get over, but rather it is something we get through. Noted author C.S. Lewis wrote about his experience with the process of grief after the death of his wife to cancer: "For in grief, nothing 'stays put'. One keeps on emerging from a phase, but it always recurs. Round and round. Everything repeats" (A Grief Observed, p.67).

The Bible tells us that there is a pathway through difficult times in our lives that leads to higher ground. The experience may indeed be life-threatening, or at least it feels that way. It is the perilous path of the valley of the shadow of death that David spoke of in Ps. 23: 4. David was talking about the times when God walks with us through our dark valley experiences. Grief is one of those formidable valley experiences.

In the valley of grief, where the way is treacherous and we are so unsure of ourselves, we learn to trust God. After all, what better option is there? Trust enables us to maintain perspective by walking "by faith, not by sight" (2cor. 5:7) as we go through the valley. Otherwise we will lose our way and get hopelessly lost in despair.

We need a trusted guide to lead us when we've lost sight of where we're headed. Only One Guide is reliable enough to lead us. That Guide is the Lord Jesus Christ. He really is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14: 6).

As we all move through stages of dealing with our loss, and as we do we follow a well-travelled path. Many have preceded us and many will follow. To undetake this trek, we must rely on God's ability to help us. We don't have to make this journey alone. He is with us, and He wants to give us the help we need to face the pain and loneliness that lie ahead. Amen. Be encouraged.

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27: 14.

*****************************************Letter # 43 (11.11.2000)*********************