You can cry, scream, shout, or wet your pants

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope”

Our Bible verse for today: “I cannot relax or be calm; I have no rest, for turmoil has come.” Job 3:26 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You can cry, scream, shout, or wet your pants”

Grief is a normal and appropriate human emotion – especially in response to a great loss, and when a person has lost hope. Expressions of grief are appropriate and even needed. An expression of grief is an expression of your love for what you have lost – be that a loved one, a job, a dream, or whatever. It would be unnatural and unhealthy to not express grief over a great loss. That’s what Job was doing in Job chapter three.

This morning, I want us to continue our thinking from yesterday regarding the fact that it is okay to vent when something bad has happened and we have lost hope. You may remember that Job’s friend Eliphaz was not very helpful once Job starting venting. Instead, he started to lecture Job and tell him that his crying was an indication of weak faith. Eliphaz could not have been more wrong. Also, that was the wrong approach to take with someone in Job’s situation.

Pastor and grief counselor Bob Deits, in his book “Life After Loss: A practical guide to renewing your life after experiencing major loss,” tells the story of the time he was called by a family to help with a mother whose seven-year-old son had been killed in a tragic accident. The mother was beside herself with grief and there didn’t seem to be anything the family could do to comfort her. They had repeatedly reminded her that her son was in heaven and she would see him again one day. But such assurances didn’t seem to be helping.

When Bob arrived and assessed the situation, he asked everyone to leave the room and then he told the mother, “Your grief for your son is entirely appropriate and it is okay for you to express it in any way that is most helpful. You can cry, scream, shout, or wet your pants, I don’t care. Just go ahead and let it out.” At that point the woman laid her head on Bob’s shoulder and cried and cried and cried – until she couldn’t cry any more. Finally, she was emotionally spent, but she felt better. That was also the beginning of her recovery. She still grieved for her son, very much so, but she was also now on the long road to recovery from her loss.

Often, we will not begin to find renewed hope until we have thoroughly grieved whatever it was that caused us to lose hope to begin with. We shouldn’t be overly dramatic by making a big deal out of little losses, but if a loss of any kind is big enough to cause us to be despondent and to lose hope, then it is important enough to be grieved. And the best thing the rest of us can do to help someone recover a renewed sense of hope, is to simply let them grieve and vent. Be patient with them. Encourage them to get it all out so they can then begin the long road to recovery.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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