Growing through grief

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. — Psalm 119:71

A woman who lost her husband of 40 years to a sudden heart attack said that the resulting grief had caused her to value love more. When she heard couples arguing, she sometimes spoke to them, saying, “You don’t have time for this.” She noted that the wasted moments in all our lives become more precious when they cannot be repeated.

Grief changes our perspective on life. It is trite but true that how we deal with sorrow will make us either bitter or better. In a remarkable statement, the psalmist actually thanked God for a difficult experience: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word . . . It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Ps. 119:67, 71).

We don’t know the nature of the psalmist’s affliction, but the positive outcome was a longing to obey the Lord and a hunger for His Word. Rarely can we use this truth to comfort those who hurt. Instead, it is the Lord’s word to us from His compassionate heart and the touch from His healing hand.

When we grieve, it feels more like dying than growing. But as God wraps His loving arms around us, we have the assurance of His faithful care. — David McCasland

I have been through the valley of weeping,

The valley of sorrow and pain;

But the God of all comfort was with me,

At hand to uphold and sustain. — Anon.

READ: Psalm 119:65-80

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. — Psalm 116:15

The Bible in one year:

• Leviticus 7-9

• Proverbs 16:12-21