When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 1 Samuel 30:3-4
David and his men didn’t blindly take off after the Amalekites. They realized the gravity of their situation. The situation was overwhelming and they wept… aloud… until they had no strength left to weep.
Hope doesn’t leave it at “God’s going to work it out” and it doesn’t pick up the burden and say, “I have to do it all myself.” It starts with accepting the circumstance and when the circumstance calls for it – weeping. Stoicism is a Greek philosophy, not a Biblical virtue.
Have you allowed yourself to grieve your loss? Do you give yourself permission to get emotional over it? It’s the natural thing to do, so natural that anger turned inward is depression.
Allow yourself to weep until you have no strength left to weep.
One of the reasons why we don’t is because of a very real fear that if we break down emotionally, we won’t be able to pick up the pieces ourselves.
What do you do when you can’t move past the sorrow? How do you move on when you don’t have the faith for the next step? What can be done when you accept the circumstance and it overwhelms you?
I’d appreciate your comments. My response will be up the next post.
Thanks for posting such a thoughtful article. I agree that it is a very difficult situation when you are so caught up in your sorrow that you can’t seem to get past it. In the case of the death of a loved one departed in Christ, we can always draw comfort from the promise of the resurrection. In other circumstances it can be equally valuable to view the situation from the perspective of the Gospel, meditating on what it is we mourn and why we feel it is important to us.
Thanks Vince. Yes, I’ve learned this lesson in my life. In fact, the past 5 years have really helped me to know how to hope, where to place it, and how to know it’s not just wishful thinking. Can’t wait to get the book out and start encouraging others with it.