When life is going well for us, and everything seems to be going our way, we can sometimes forget we have only got where we are because of God. We shouldn’t just rely on God and thank Him for loving and supporting us during the difficult times, but instead, remember God is part of our whole life, both the good and the bad times.
God’s not going to do everything for us, but we can’t do anything without Him.
I mentioned the other day in Managing Grief #1, that I would be doing a series of blog posts giving some ideas on how to manage grief. Today it’s about remembering your loved one…
Just because your loved one is gone doesn’t mean you should try to remove any thought of their passing from your mind. It’s important to be realistic about your loss, and not try to hide from the fact that there is an empty space in your life that they once filled.
I’m not saying we should immortalise them and never move on with your life, simply that you need to give yourself time to grieve – That in turn leads to the question of the how long is appropriate for us to grieve. The answer to this questions in itself is unknown as we are all different and all cope with grief differently, so grieve for as long as you need to.
When your with family and friends, don’t be afraid to talk about your loved one by sharing your memories of them, because in doing so you are helping you, and in turn showing your family and friends that it is actually ok to speak about the person.
I hope none of this sounds cold and dismissive, it is not intended to be. I simply feel that it is worthwhile to remember the person who has died and talk about them. i.e. It should not be taboo to talk about someone because they’ve died, but instead it should be good to share memories.
In the last couple of weeks I keep coming across references to the following quote:
God may not get us out of a situation, but He will give us the strength to get through it.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that I’ve been reminded of this quote on a regular basis recently, because, as many of you will know, there are a number of situations going on in my life just now which mean I’ve finding life quite difficult at present.
The one consolation I have is that I truly believe the above words…that God will give me the strength to get through it! Therefore, no matter how distant God may seem to you just now, don’t give up, because God is with you, and He will help you get through these difficult days.
Do you believe God is good?
Do you believe God is great?
Do you know God is great?
…but do you tell others how great God is?
Psalm 73:27-28 (NLT)
Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
Let’s make those words come alive today, by making sure we tell everyone how great our God is. God will be with us during our times of joy as well as during our times of distress.
God is my everything, and He is ready and willing to do wonderful things in your life too if you’ll just let Him into your life.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear ~ Martin Luther King, Jr
Isn’t that a great thought? It suggests Martin Luther King Jr has tried to hate, but found it too difficult a burden to bear, so decided, almost as a last resort that love is the best option.
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
So while at times it may seem easier to hate than to love, hate can not only be an awful burden or millstone around your neck, but also suggests we cannot truly love God. If we can hate someone we know and have actually seen, how on earth can it be true that we love God who we have only read about and been told about?
Let’s not spread hate in this world, as there’s already far to much of that around, let’s try our hardest with God’s help to love each and every person we come into contact with.
In yesterday’s blog post, Wisdom To Accept, I quoted the following prayer to you:
God let me accept the things I can’t change, courage to change things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
Yesterday I focused on why we must accept things we can’t change. Now today I want to focus on the challenge of trying to change the things we can.
There can be situations that arise where it can be obvious to us that with some input from us could have a positive impact on the situation. Other times there may be nothing which makes us think we can help change things for the good, and then there are those times when we can see how we may be able to help but the situation seems too challenging or daunting for us that we try to pretend we can’t help.
Any of those situations ringing a bell with you?
I can certainly think of some circumstances where I’ve ignored a situation I could have helped with, simply because I didn’t want to get involved or felt I wouldn’t be able to provide the level of help needed. It’s at times like these that we must remember that God will guide us, and show us the situations He wants and needs us to get involved in or help with. We simply need to ask God to give us the courage to help.
The last few days I’ve talked about how we need to give the whole of our lives to God. Today I want to think about how in addition to giving God our all, God must be our everything in every situation…
God is always with us, so it’s up to us to make sure He really is our everything.
Everything by Tim Hughes
God in my living, there in my breathing
God in my waking, God in my sleeping
God in my resting, there in my working
God in my thinking, God in my speaking
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
God in my hoping, there in my dreaming
God in my watching, God in my waiting
God in my laughing, there in my weeping
God in my hurting, God in my healing
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Christ in me, Christ in me
Christ in me, the hope of glory
You are everything
Christ in me, Christ in me
Christ in me, the hope of glory
Be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
God in my hoping, there in my dreaming
God in my watching, God in my waiting
God in my laughing, there in my weeping
God in my hurting, God in my healing
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Be my everything, be my everything
Christ in me, Christ in me
Christ in me, the hope of glory
You are everything
You are everything, You are everything
You are everything, You are everything
Jesus, everything, Jesus, everything
Jesus, everything, Jesus everything
All Glory by Tim Hughes
How great is your love, it never gives up on me
Stronger than shame, carries me back to you
Jesus my redeemer,
You have made a way
All glory to God who is able
All power and praise
Forever the earth will proclaim
You are mighty, you are mighty
So great is your love, keeps all its promises
Unshakeable, eternity rests in your hands
Jesus I surrender, lead me in your ways
All glory to God who is able
All power and praise
Forever the earth will proclaim
You are mighty, you are mighty
Lift him higher, he is mighty
Lift him higher, he is God
Lift him higher, he is mighty
Lift him higher, he is God
Do you lift God higher each day?
God is ever faithful to us, and when we give our lives to Him, we are promising to be faithful to Him. Even when we do or say things we shouldn’t, God forgives us, and welcomes us back to Him.
1 Chronicles 16:23-25 (NIV)
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
God is great, so tell the world how wonderful and faithful
