Should Christians Grieve?: April 24, 2024

[00:00:00] You are listening to My Devotional, the daily devotional from Dr. Michael Youssef and Leading

[00:00:06] The Way.

[00:00:09] Should Christians Grieve? by Dr. Michael Youssef

[00:00:14] Death is a frightening and mysterious subject.

[00:00:18] Ignorance only increases our confusion and fear.

[00:00:22] Knowledge brings blessing.

[00:00:24] So Paul wants the Thessalonians and us to have reliable knowledge about what happens

[00:00:29] to believers when they die.

[00:00:32] The apostle makes it clear that there is nothing wrong with the emotion of grief.

[00:00:37] Nowhere does the Bible say that believers should not grieve.

[00:00:41] Nowhere does the Bible say that we should not shed tears over the loss of a loved one.

[00:00:48] Nowhere does the Bible say that we do not feel sorrow and a sense of emptiness when

[00:00:53] a loved one passes away.

[00:00:55] But we do not grieve like those who have no hope.

[00:00:59] When a non-believer dies, his or her loved ones have nothing left but memories.

[00:01:05] But when a loved one dies, we have hope for the future because we believe in the resurrection

[00:01:11] and everlasting life.

[00:01:14] The grief and sorrow we feel is temporary.

[00:01:17] We're saying goodbye until we meet again.

[00:01:20] We're not saying goodbye forever.

[00:01:24] So we grieve because even a temporary separation is painful.

[00:01:29] We miss our children when they go off to college.

[00:01:32] We miss our parents when they retire and move to another state.

[00:01:36] It's only natural that we should miss our beloved ones when they are promoted to eternal

[00:01:41] life in heaven.

[00:01:43] We know we will see them again, but in the meantime we grieve.

[00:01:49] In his first letter to Thessalonians Paul shows sympathy and understanding for our bereavement

[00:01:54] over losing a loved one.

[00:01:56] He does not rebuke them for their sadness or shock.

[00:01:59] He does not minimize their loss and pain.

[00:02:03] The time of loss is the time of looking back on the past, looking forward to the future

[00:02:08] reunion in heaven, and looking inward and reminding ourselves of our mortality.

[00:02:16] When we stand at the grave side of someone who has died, our false sense of security, our

[00:02:20] false assumption that life will always go on and never stop falls away.

[00:02:26] We're faced with the reality of death, and we should remember there is a grave waiting

[00:02:32] for us as well.

[00:02:35] But we need not be morbid about it.

[00:02:37] The grave is not the end of the story.

[00:02:40] We believe in the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have absolute confidence

[00:02:45] that our bodies will be one day raised like His.

[00:02:50] Let's pray together.

[00:02:51] Lord, thank You for defeating death.

[00:02:53] We praise You for the hope of the resurrection.

[00:02:56] Help us to mourn with those who mourn and to share the hope of Christ with the hurting.

[00:03:00] We pray this in the name of Jesus.

[00:03:03] Amen.

[00:03:04] What awaits the believer after this life?

[00:03:08] And how does our eternal future impact our lives today?

[00:03:12] In his new book, Heaven Awaits.

[00:03:14] Dr. Michael Yousef dispels misconceptions about the believer's eternal home and articulates

[00:03:20] heaven's blessings, majesty, and the reality of heaven shared in Scripture.

[00:03:25] As you dig into God's promises and understand your eternal future in Christ, you will

[00:03:30] be empowered to persevere whatever you face today.

[00:03:34] Pre-order your copy today at LTW.org for your gift of any amount.

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