Grief Archives

¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ~ Hebrews 12:15^ESV

It wasn’t until recently that I realized, or truly understood, what a Root of Bitterness was that the author of Hebrews was warning us about. I thought that it was a root of bitterness in regard to feeling bitter towards someone or something. Unforgiveness that had turned to dislike or disdain for someone. But the Root of Bitterness isn’t that at all; it’s unchecked grief.

It’s Job losing everything and cursing the day he was born. It’s Naomi losing her husband and two sons, and renaming herself Mara. It’s a root of hopelessness that says this is it. There is no more hope. There is no way out. There is nothing more for you here. It is a destructive root that speaks death instead of life. The Root of Bitterness corrupts faith because it takes away hope. Without hope, you cannot have faith.

This is the reason Paul emphatically said, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. In everything, we give thanks to God. We give thanks for the life we still have, the sin that is still shining, the hope that we still cling to. We give thanks in every circumstance, regardless of how hard or difficult they are. We give thanks to our God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Uproot The Bitter Root.

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¹ For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ²a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

For everything, there is a season. Nothing happens randomly. Nothing happens out of its season and doesn’t fail. As humans, it’s easy to say that this is Truth, but it’s much harder to act like it is Truth. When we live out of the season that we have to be in, we begin to die inside. Sometimes, we completely refuse to live in the season we have to live in in order to get through our situation, and our spirit dies within us. And sometimes, depending on circumstances, we even die physically because of it.

So many of us struggle with grief because we either don’t want to face it or we don’t know how to face it. Because of this, the suicide rate goes up with each generation. Many of us don’t mourn because we’re afraid to. Many of us don’t laugh because we feel like we can’t because of our grief. It almost feels like we are stomping on the grave of a loved one if we move forward with our lives. It almost feels like if we laugh or enjoy life, we’re doing something wrong because they’re no longer with us. Mourning is necessary. Something both spiritually and physically is released and comforted when we go through our season of mourning. It isn’t easy to mourn, but always remember that it’s just for a season because after you have mourned, God will comfort you and fill you with joy. Many of us miss out on the joy of the LORD because we refuse to mourn. Don’t miss out on joy. Don’t miss out on dancing. Don’t miss out on living because you are in mourning.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Mourn In Its Season.

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Tag: Grief

Uproot The Bitter Root

Mourn In Its Season

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