Discussions in Grief: Praise

Grieving involves new emotions and considerations often too many to numbers. When you find yourself in overwhelming grief, you likely feel buried and lost. In this series, we slowly and compassionately look at one aspect of grief at a time from a biblical perspective for the newly grieving mother. Click {here} to read past posts in this series. 

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Imagine yourself in a pit. You are struggling to see and breathe, you are terribly lonely, and it looks as if there is no way out. This is a picture of what grief feels like to most. I often picture myself covered in the dirt and muck of my pit. How will I ever be able to look up again? Will my arms have the strength to rise? Can my voice be heard over the echoes of the silence?

 

With mud caked eyes, with weary arms, and with dust filled lungs we are called to praise. It seems like an extremely daunting task when you feel as if you have nothing left to give, or worse, that you are not worthy to even act on that admiration.

 

-Psalm 42:5

 

Some that grieve do not allow themselves the right to mourn. They feel as if they are stronger than their emotions. If that sounds like you, give yourself permission to feel undone and experience all the awfulness that comes under the weight of sorrow. But while we are allowed to mourn, we must not let it incapacitate us from remembering how good our God is.

 

“Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  -Psalm 95:2-3 

 

The dirt that you bring from the pit to God does not have to be packaged up in a pretty white bow with crisp wrapping paper and strategically placed tape. In other words, you do not have to have it all together before you call out to Him. Lamenting in this manner is an act of trust and worship. If we bring our mess to our Maker, we are validating the fact that we need Him. This is a sweet dance of acknowledging the assurance we have in His love for us and the fact that He desires for us to draw near to Him. In anguish, your worship song may sound more like a cry for help because we need God’s mercy to save us.

 

-Psalm 59:17

 

While mourning is an important part of our grief, we must intertwine that with pure worship.  We can learn from David what it looks like to praise from the pit of despair. Even while Saul had sent soldiers to watch David’s home with the intent of taking his life, David sang a song of praise. Like David, we can praise God through our emotional anguish and show where our confidence lies no matter what our circumstances are. If we can shift our focus from ourselves and our sufferings onto our Savior and His sovereignty, we will be less likely to over stay our welcome in the pit.

 

“Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!”  -Psalm 150:2

 

Do not forget that we have a spiritual enemy who would love nothing more than for us to turn our focus off of God and onto the lies he whispers to us in our vulnerability. In the story of Jehoshaphat, we can see God defeat the enemy because of the peoples’ obedience to praise Him.

 

“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”  -2 Chronicles 20:22 

 

God will fight our battles for us.

 

In times of heartbreak, some may feel a distance in their relationship with God. We can learn from the psalmist that praise invites His presence. This can encourage you in those times of deafening silence to sing of His worthiness and draw near to your Heavenly Father.

 

“He inhabits the praises of His people.”  -Psalm 22:3

 

When we worship the Father in confidence or through tears, that does not mean that we diminish our pain or the impact of our loss.  We can be confident in this because of Jesus−the One who paid it all. He is able to carry all of our burdens and sorrows.  We should strive to give all praise and worship to Him for all that He has done and will do. His promises are true even in the pit of grief.

 

-Psalm 34:1

 

Dear one, what can you praise God for from inside of this pit of grief? How can you nurture a heart of praise even in the midst of sorrow? Is there a song or a verse that has drawn your heart towards praise since the loss of your precious baby?