Mourning The Living

Not all grief and pain and tears relate to mourning the dead. Sometimes due to divorce, loss of health, loss of a job, moving to a new town, or the loss of fellowship with a friend — we feel especially vulnerable and alone. Who and what we mourn about may involve people who are still living! 

For example, it has been said that in divorce, a death has occurred, but there is no funeral. Therefore, our support system may not be in place for surviving a divorce as it would be for working through death and dying issues. In a divorce, disease, or demotion, there is nobody to bury and scarce few cards to send from Hallmark.

Here is the point: Mourning the living brings pain that is just as real as mourning the dead and dying.

Psalm 6:6-9 (HCSB)
6  I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my pillow and drench my bed every night.
7  My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies.
8  Depart from me, all evildoers, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9  The LORD has heard my plea for help; the LORD accepts my prayer. 

The context of Psalm 6 is that King David was mourning the attacks of his enemies and he was mourning about this every night. Physical death is not the subject under consideration here.

Psalm 34:15-18 (HCSB)
15  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help.
16  The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth.
17  The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.
18  The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. 

Once again, this is a Psalm from King David.

Likewise, it is thought David wrote:

Psalm 147:3-6 (NKJV)
3  He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.
4  He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
5  Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
6  The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. 

Friends, it WILL be payday someday for all those who have mistreated their fellow men and women.

Here are some things to think about out behind the barn: 

1. The tear-stained pillows and humble prayers of a mourning child of God get His attention!

2. We need to accept that God will resolve the injustices we’ve faced on His schedule and His way.

3. It is always a good habit to quickly offer our condolences to the hurting ones with “I am so sorry for your loss!” Such empathy is almost always well accepted, no matter the cause of someone’s grief.

Email me with your questions about grief at this address: doug_greenway@yahoo.com and we will deal with any of those issues in a future article.