How do you cope when a loved one’s life is taken in death? What emotions are you carrying with you from the hospital or the funeral home? The death of a loved one, family member, or friend, is something that every person must cope with at some moment in life.
How do we do it? How can we mourn and then continue living the life God has called us to live? Is there something we can do before or after? Are their coping and mourning answers in the Bible that we can carry with us and practice at the right time?
Meriem-Websters Dictionary defines coping as: “To deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties.” Overcoming the loss of a loved one is something we can sadly anticipate but be prepared for.
Joshua has just lost his mentor and long-term friend Moses to death. Moses was 120 years old. Joshua was now 80. These two have known each other for a long time. Moses taught Joshua to believe. Moses gave Joshua God’s Word. Moses passed the mantel of leadership to the younger Joshua to carry on the momentous task of leading Israel into the Promise Land.
Deuteronomy 34:8 tells us that Joshua and the people of Israel wept and mourned for Moses for 30 days. Having funerals and taking time to remember, reflect, and mourn is essential – for the people left behind. When you make end-of-life plans, I hope you consider others and give them a chance for healthy closure by offering a funeral. A Funeral is a significant moment in time to establish closure for the grieving. It helps the survivors turn the page and begin a new chapter in life.
After 30 days of mourning are completed, Joshua receives an urgent message from God.
“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”
Joshua 1:1-2
God tells Joshua to “Arise” and to “Go.”
I write this with sympathy. “Moses is dead; get up from mourning, and go, lead, serve, and follow God into the next chapter of your life.” That is what God is telling Joshua to do. God has a future for Joshua. God has a future for you and me as well!
The Every Day Carry Christian will pray and plan ahead for these moments, and with this example, he/she can grieve healthily and then stand up and go into the next chapter of life God has for them. The pain of loss is real, but there is more to do. The sorrow of being alone is genuine, but there are new people to find and serve.
The memories will be triggered at certain moments or events, which is OK. Remember. Show respect. Reflect. And then keep going into the new chapter of life God has opened for you.
Here are some Bible truths to carry with you in your heart and mind each day:
Carry Scriptures of Hope.
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13
Carry Scriptures of Comfort.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Carry Scriptures of Promise.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8
The Every Day Carry Christian carries the words “Arise and Go” and many other hope verses daily. The Bible will help when your time of loss comes. Death is a sad part of living, but God has given us Spiritual Thriving Skills in the Bible to help us know what to do and how to respond.
EDC Christian 