Skip to main content

Encouraging One Another by the Word in Times of Grief By Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     In times of grief we sometimes offer one another empty platitudes, mainly because we don’t know what else to say or do. But sometimes, for fear of making this mistake, we remain silent and fail to encourage one another with godly wisdom, even though this is what the Scripture calls us to do.
     Consider the words of Paul where he writes, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
     Beloved, Paul wants us to be informed about the truth so that we will grieve well before the Lord, that is, so that we might grieve in light of the undying hope we have in Jesus. Neither offering one another the wisdom of the world nor remaining silent will help us in the long run. But encouraging one another by the words and wisdom of God will be of tremendous help, for it anchors us in the person of God, the truth and worldview of God, and the hope of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
     This is why Paul ends his exhortation with the words, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (4:18). First, Paul is exhorting us to act and speak to one another rather than to remain silent. It has been said that idleness is the devil’s playground, and in times of grief, silence is his playground, too. So let us not build a playground for the flesh, the world, and the devil by remaining silent, rather, let us resolve to encourage one another in times of grief.
     Second, Paul is exhorting us to encourage one another by the words and wisdom of God rather than the empty platitudes of the flesh, the world, and the devil. Jesus weeps when his people grieve but he also speaks, and he primarily speaks through his Word. So in times of grief, let us redouble our efforts to saturate our minds with his Word and then encourage one another by his Word. As we seek him, he will speak to us, and as he speaks to us, let us boldly and compassionately speak to one another. If we will hear and heed Paul’s loving exhortation to “encourage one another with these words,” we will not only get through but grow through every season of grief. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worship Songs, October 15, 2017

By
We post these worship songs leading up to the worship service so that parents may listen to them in the house or in the car within the days leading up to the worship service. Our hope is that children will hear the songs prior to and it will prepare them to participate in worship on Sunday mornings. My Redeemers Love Hope Has Come I Will Glory In My Redeemer Blessed Be Your Name Here In Your Presence Your Glory Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest) -- Sermon Text: John 11:1-16 That the next generation will set their hope in God and not forget the works of God (Psalm 78:7).
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations on the Glory of Christ: He Sits at the Right Hand of God

By
In Hebrews 1:2-4, the author makes seven claims about Jesus that when taken together greatly exalt his glory. The seventh claim the author makes about the Son is that, having made purification for sins, he now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The words “he sat down” set the stage for chapter 7 where we’re taught that Jesus is both Priest and King. Prior to Jesus, no king offered his own sacrifices and no priest sat on the throne of David, for that wouldn’t be right. God had decreed that there should be a separation of powers between the priest and the king, but Jesus, unlike all before him, is worthy and able to fulfill both roles. So, on the one hand, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God after making purification for sins because the sacrifice he offered, namely himself, is sufficient. Other priests were always standing, as we see in chapter 10:11-14, because their work was never done. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins, so the priests could...
Post a Comment
Read more