Nothing interrupts life quite like Grief. It has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. When it hits, you feel like you have been punched in the gut and then hit over the head with a two-by-four. Grief enters like a grenade, exploding every part of you to pieces, leaving you mortally wounded, wondering if you will ever survive this ordeal. You are never the same after. Everything changes after losing a loved one. One minute you can't stop weeping and the next you have no tears left only to feel guilty for not feeling anything. To make matters worse, those close to you start telling you how you should feel, how you should grieve, and telling you to "just get over it." You start doubting your own faith and even doubting whether God cares or understands.
I wish I could tell you that there is a way to make the pain go away, that there are answers to all the questions that are swirling in your mind but I can't. No words exist to make you feel better. I don't know why God allows us to go through grief. I wish I knew why he doesn't keep us from it but I can promise you that there is hope as you walk this dark passage. You will not only survive, you will become stronger as a result. You will never "get over it" but you will "get through it."
The 23rd Psalm was written by a man who experienced everything I have just described. It is a first-hand account of an encounter with grief. This Psalm was not meant to be a feel-good poem. It is not a "peaceful, easy feeling" song. It is an account of a grief stricken man being led through one of the darkest moments in his life by the God who calls himself the "Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief." This story doesn't paint a portrait of a towering, courageous, all conquering hero king chasing after his enemies, but of a wounded shepherd boy running for his life into the arms of the Good Shepherd.
Let's take a walk with David through the 23rd Psalm and discover the Lord, our Shepherd, and uncover the powerful truths found along the pathway of grief. Over the next several days I will lay out step-by-step each of these discoveries given to us by David in this chapter. I need to point out that they were not discovered because he was a Great King but because he was a humble shepherd who was transformed into a great king through his discovery. In preparation for Part 2, I invite you to prayerfully read through the 23rd Psalm in the context of the above paragraphs. Read it through several times and ask God to give you new insight as you take a walk through this wonderful chapter of God's Word.
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