Surviving Loss
Introduction
For six weeks now we have been talking about "life's hurts." There are several things I have been reminded of during this series. Everyone has been stung at one time or the other. Everyone knows someone who has been stung. People are at different stages in dealing with the hurt of stings. God delivers!
Today is the final lesson in the series. Today's lesson deals with one of the most devastating of stings, loss. Life is full of losses. Everyone goes through seasons of loss, tragedy and grief. Nothing in this life is permanent. There are many kinds of loss.
You can lose your finances. You can lose your job. You can lose your health. You can lose your marriage. You can lose love ones who die.
Remember the fairy tales you read as a child. How did each end? "And they lived happily ever after." The truth is life isn't like that. Life isn't a fairy tale where people live happily ever after.
Today, I want to share some principles I hope will help you deal with loss in your life.
I. Understand bad things can Happen to Good People
Look at 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11. The writer, Paul, wanted to accurately inform his friends about the hardships of life.
Hardships affect Christians as well as non-Christians. A Christian can lose his job, health, marriage, loved ones and even his life. There is grave misunderstanding that leads us to believe two wrong statements. All the bad things happen to us because we are bad. All the good things that happen do so because of our goodness. I cannot explain all the tragedies of life. It will take eternity to do that. I can give you hope in the midst of tragedy and loss.
II. Deal with the Grief in your Life
This is what Paul is doing in 2 Corinthians. In a way he is spilling his guts to the people. Look at his terminology: Great pressure, Hardships, Despair, and Wanting to die. The first step to healing is to deal with the grief in your life. That is what Paul was doing.
III. Loss Produces Strong Emotions
Look at some of the emotions that are produced by loss in our lives:
Anger
Guilt
Worry
Fear
Depression
Feelings built up in us. If not dealt with as soon as possible it takes longer to recover.
IV. Some of you have a Difficult Time Dealing with Grief
A. You Swallow It
You have bought the line that says, "If you are a Christian you should walk around with a smile on your face regardless."
B. You Must Release Your Grief
Carry it to God. Carry it to others who can help. That is why we have support groups in our church. Allow others to help. This is difficult for a lot of us.
Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other’s burdens."
In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul is encouraging people to help one another through their sorrows.
Look at 2 Corinthians 1:3 ff.
C. The Temptation is to Withdraw
We need people's comfort. That is the reason small groups are so important. Your Sunday School class. Your small groups within your class.
D. Deal with Resentment
We have looked at that point many times in this series. There is no place where we are more susceptible to resentment and bitterness than in times of loss. How do we deal with bitterness in loss? Exercise faith. Faith is not denying the reality of the loss. Faith is refusing to give up in the face of loss. That's what Paul did in verse 9-10. Look at what you have to be thankful for in times of loss.
1. God is with you.
2. You have Jesus Christ.
3. You have support through your church family.
IV. Allow Loss to Put Life into Perspective
What is really important? When we go through loss we realize the greatest things in life are not things. Build your life on something that can't be taken away from you. Paul said, "On him I set my hope..." Verse 10. Only Jesus Christ cannot be taken away from you. When going through a time of loss there are a few things we need to do.
A. Allow Him To Be Our Stability
B. Allow Him To Direct Us
C. Allow Him To Deliver Us
Conclusion
In loss and gain we need to rely on Christ. Someone has well said, "The key to crisis control is Christ control." Who's in charge of your life? If you are not experiencing the crisis of loss do not wait until you do experience it. Come to Christ Now! If you are experiencing loss, you can come to Christ Now!