Is there relief from grief?

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
     your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
     your consolation brought joy to my soul.
- Psalm 94:18-19

This verse was in a book about grief recovery and it got me to thinking.

What if I trust in God but don’t feel secure?

What if I pray and don’t feel comfort?

Does this mean I don’t have enough faith?

What exactly is the comfort I am supposed to feel? If I am faithful enough then will I suddenly feel all warm and fuzzy?

I feel more like the guy that drank too much in college. I am spinning out of control and retching. And God is like that good friend that make sure you have a trash can to puke in. And that you don’t get too messed up. “Thanks, God,” you say in the morning, “I am so glad you are my friend and take care of me. Don’t knwo what I’d do without you.” But he didn’t take away the pain the night before while I was in it.

Of course, God probably was standing next to the keg the night before saying, “Dude, slow down. You’re gonna get messed up.” But did I listen to him? No.

Now, Anita’s death was not a bad choice I made and grief is not the consequence of my sins. A better metaphor is that I have H1N1 and God comes over to cook my kids dinner and wash the bedsheets. I can;t help that I cought the flu and suffer, but God is there for me to walk with me though it.

That brings me back to the essential quesiton: Is strong faith a cure all for the pains of life? I doubt anyone would answer yes becasue we have to suffer to grow in character. But your faith can help sustain you through the pain – but not remove the pain.

I might say that Psalm 94 is not at all about relief from grief and the associated pain, but instead about comforting self imposed stress and worry.

There is no relief from grief. But through our faith in God we can find the courage to face the pain and through the pain, God changes us into the new things that he wants us to be.

I recently read a quote from a doctor that said, “Grief blocks my abilities to see God, but I shouldn’t conclude that means He is absent.” So although I feel alone and I don’t feel God’s presence, He is with me.