This week was very difficult at work because we found out that one of our employees is very sick with cancer. I have never experienced a situation like this where I need to be strong for everyone in the organization, stay positive during the journey, and encourage my friend to continue the fight. So, I decided to write him a “love and encouragement” letter and then also shared it with the rest of the staff. I took a risk because there may be employees who are not believers in the organization and they may think I’m either crazy or weird. But I still believe in sharing my heart and my beliefs with others.
These are good opportunities for us, believers, to share our faith in God without shame or fear. If we don’t take the step, who will? What if because of us sharing our faith someone will come to Christ? We don’t know where people are at and we don’t know how close they are of making a decision that will change their lives forever. So I took the chance. We will see how it is received.
Today, I want to leave you with a devotional, from my book Devotions for Working Women, that will help you deal with distress and grief in your life. Be blessed!
Dealing with Grief and Distress
#94
Psalm 31:9 (NLT)
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. My sight is blurred because of my tears. My body and soul are withering away.
During the course of our lives, we experience times of great distress and situations when we feel we are withering away from grief. Losing our job can create great pain for us because our work is a major part of our lives. Yet the loss of a loved one could be much more impacting in our working life. When we lose someone to death like a child, our spouse, a parent, or a close friend, it creates a wound in our heart that only God can heal. Divorce, separation, or a child leaving home prematurely can also be as catastrophic.
These events change our lives forever, and it is in those moments that grief can settle into our hearts. It is normal to go through a grieving period, but we cannot stay there too long because it is deadly for us just as David said in verse 10, “I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Misery has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within.”
Even though we never forget tragic or sad events, we need to move on and let go of the grief and pain. We must continue the race God has set for each one of us and finish it. There are two things we need to do. First, just as David never gave up trusting God and kept running to Him for protection and comfort, we have to trust God that He will help us and lift us up. “So be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the Lord!” (v. 24). Secondly, we need to do what Paul did. He said to the people of Philippi, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT).