Are the waves of grief taking you under because of pain and sorrow weighing down on your heart? Do you find it difficult to accept what was – is no longer? Fortunately, through God’s promises, a grieving heart can heal. This 5-day Bible plan guides the bereaved through healing, reflecting, and applying God’s promises to a grieving heart.
Reveal Heal Thrive LLC
Day 1
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
God Provides Comfort in Our Grief
My thoughts raced, and my heart was full of sorrow after my mother’s death. I couldn’t imagine life without her. I spent my days camped out in the book of Revelation in the Bible, seeking to learn more about heaven. Grief had me fixated on seeking answers about what my mother might experience in the afterlife. Was she assigned to the heavenly hospitality committee, since she had loved entertaining and hosting guests before she died? Was angel food cake a thing in heaven?
I found myself in an unhealthy emotional spiral. Disbelief, anger, and shock poured from my grief-stricken heart. As I began processing my mother’s death, my heart shifted to acceptance once I realized I wouldn’t get the answers to those questions. What I truly wanted was healing my broken heart.
I intentionally switched from reading Bible verses about the end times to verses about God’s promises for a grieving heart. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, NIV states God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” who provides comfort to us in our darkest times. Scripture also shows us that God is Jehovah Rapha, which means “the God Who Heals” in Hebrew. The healing of a grieving heart begins with God’s promises of who He is. A heavenly Father, who is compassionate toward our pain, the God of all comfort, and the God who heals.
Over the next five days, we will reflect on God’s promises of healing, love, and hope for a grieving heart, which will allow the grasp of pain and sorrow to loosen on your heart.
Moment of Reflection
What’s weighing on your grief-stricken heart today? Spend time in prayer with the God of all comfort, the Father of compassion, who provides comfort to us in our darkest times and lightens the heaviness in our hearts.
Day 2
Scriptures: John 11:33-36, Psalms 34:18, Matthew 5:4
God Comes Alongside the Brokenhearted
As someone who has had depression in the past, my first reaction was to withdraw socially. I felt like no one would understand what I was going through. However, this is quite the contrary. Regardless of our race or socioeconomic class, we will all experience grief in our lifetime.
According to the US Census Bureau, about 2.5 million people die in the United States annually, each leaving an average of five grieving people behind. It’s estimated that 1.5 million children (5% of children in the United States) have lost one or both parents by age 15. The statistics are astonishing and clear that we are not alone in our grief.
As a bereaved community, we have unlimited access to our Savior, who knows the emotional depths of love and loss because He has experienced them. In John 11, we see Jesus brought to tears (John 11:35, NIV) as he witnessed two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their community grieving the death of their brother and his friend Lazarus. Through empathy, Jesus understands our pain, and through unconditional love and compassion, He comes alongside us as we grieve.
The beauty of God’s promises for a grieving heart is that we are not alone in our grief. Psalms 34:18, NIV reminds us of the heart of God who is, “near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” As we live with our grief, we are blessed to have the promise that God will comfort us (Matthew 5:4, NIV) throughout our bereavement journey.
Moment of Reflection
Reflect on the reassurance of God’s promise to come alongside you as you grieve. How does His promise provide hope for your grieving heart?
Day 3
Scriptures: Luke 6:21, Ecclesiastes 3:4-5, Psalms 126:5
God Turns Our Tears into Joy
On November 27, 2019, I watched my mother take her last breath. She died with dignity and a smile on her face. At that moment, the circle of life was clear to me. Forty-six years ago, my mom went into labor with me and brought me into this world. She saw my first breath and her heart filled with joy. I was present to watch her take her last breath, but my heart filled with sadness.
Joy and pain are inseparable in the cycle of life. In our lifetime, both emotions will hold space in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:4-5, NIV) One can’t truly experience the overwhelming feeling of joy without truly understanding the depths of pain.
As my heart healed, I changed my focus from what I lost to what I gained from my mother. I learned about love, resilience, and life lessons from her. If I focused on everything I lost, I wouldn’t have allowed my heart to open to God’s promise of turning my tears into joy once again. (Psalm 126:5, NIV)
As we are processing our grief, we may need to take it one day at a time, or sometimes a millisecond at a time. Our tears sown in grief is a reminder that love never dies. There is no expiration or timetable for grief. We live through grief, but God’s promise encourages us that joy is available to all of us on the other side of pain. (Luke 6:21, NIV)
Moment of Reflection
Reflect on God’s promises to turn our tears sown in grief into joy. Envision what healing looks like for you as you open your heart to God’s promise for joy and laughter to take space in your heart once again.
Day 4
Scripture: Romans 15:13
God Restores Our Hearts with Hope
At the beginning of my grief journey, it was difficult for me to accept life without my mother because I couldn’t imagine life without her. I wanted my broken heart restored as if it was a part of a home improvement project, restoring an object to its original condition. I felt hopeless because life would never be the same.
“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” – St. Augustine, a theologian and philosopher
We define hope as a belief in action. It’s a feeling of trust we have that God is our beacon of light on days that seem bleak and desolate by the pain of grief.
As I acknowledged that life will never be the same, I slowly let go of the expectations of restoring my heart to its original condition. My heart won’t be the same as my mother’s death has changed my life forever. However, I’m comforted by God’s promise to exchange our sorrow for joy and peace by filling us with hope. (Romans 15:13, NIV)
Life won’t be the same after you have experienced grief, but should it be? After an experience with grief, we learn to live each day with purpose and intention, not taking our loved ones for granted, and relying on unshakable faith. As God is and will continue to be in the restoration business of rebuilding our hearts anew. He restores our grief-stricken hearts with hope, which makes them better than they were, to begin with. Our once-wounded hearts will eventually heal, and a scar will form as proof we can heal from the grief that has changed our lives forever.
Moments of Reflection
Reflect on God’s promise to fill your grieving heart with hope, joy, and peace. How does God’s reassurance change your perspective on how you move forward in grief?
Day 5
Scriptures: Lamentations 3:31, 1 John 4:16
God’s Love Is Everlasting
Love is the strongest energy in the universe. That’s why heartbreak is so painful. In our grief, God shows us compassion and reminds us of His unfailing love. (Lamentations 3:31, NIV)
In my darkest depths of depression, I wanted God to take the emotion of love away from me. I was tired of the heartache and pain. However, God’s word reminded me that He is love. (1 John 4:16, NIV) For God to take love away from me would mean removing His spirit from my heart.
While living with grief, we need to be gentle and patient with ourselves. At the beginning of your grief journey, it may seem impossible to do your normal tasks as you did before your loved one passed away. Be mindful of setting reasonable expectations and building from there.
As we mourn, God’s word reminds us of His unconditional love and the comfort He gives us on our bereavement journey. We can be certain that we are not alone in our grief, and as we meditate on God’s promises, our hearts will heal, and our tears will one day turn to joy.
Don’t be afraid to seek professional help from a grief counselor or pastor if your grief becomes too overwhelming for you to manage.
Moments of Reflection
Allow God’s promises for a grieving heart to resonate in your spirit. Memorize the scriptures outlined in this devotional and post them around your home as a gentle reminder that God loves you and cares for your broken heart.