Understanding God, Grief, and Emotions

Hello my name is Rebecca and I lost my father when I was 12. I am 14 now and I want to help other teens that go through similar situations, so I am going to talk about what God has taught me through this time of grief that I think I am still in, what emotions I have felt, and that it is ok to feel emotions or not to feel emotions and why, so I want to start with what God has taught me.

God 

       When I lost my father, I was angry at God but also at myself because it was so sudden. Many people I know are mad at God for certain things like a death of a loved one and I can understand but what I have learned is that that’s normal in certain ways. We learn about that a bit in the book of Job. Job is feeling so many emotions and is mad at God at some point in his grief, but one thing that helped me was that God is never mad at us. He taught me that he does things for a reason. That took me a while to realize but I realized it after some prayer. I still get mad at him for some points but those are just bumps in the road (aka life) and he has planned our whole life and he knows it's all for a reason. God taught me to spend time with the people on earth still with us because I realized I should have done that with my dad  … but I get to know now to spend time with people in my life, and that the people we have lost are always watching over us along with God.

Emotions

         Now I want to talk about emotions when I lost my dad. I did not cry right away which I thought was weird, but I realized that that’s okay as well. Sometimes you don’t cry, sometimes you do, but you should never feel like its bad to cry, because it is perfectly normal for both boys and girls so you should not hold in your emotions. It’s also perfectly normal not to cry, I didn't and it's not a sign you didn't love the person. I thought that a bit when I didn't cry for my father, but I learned that it was perfectly normal to not cry. One adult in my life told me that God hears us both speaking and through emotions like crying, and anger. Always remember that.

Some Verses

          Now some final things if you are looking to read some verses in the Bible to help you understand some things that may be confusing here are some verses  …

Grief: 

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4 (NIV) 

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Psalm 42:11 (NIV)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

John 16:22 (NIV) 

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

Emotions: 

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 34:18 (NIV) 

“I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

Psalm 6:6-7 (NIV) 

“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.”

Psalm 31:9 (NIV) 

“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”

Psalm 119:28 (NIV) 

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”“

Isaiah 66:13 (NIV) 

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV) 

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 (NIV) 

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

Heaven: 

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:2-4 (NIV)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) 

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Revelation 21:22-27 (NIV)

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:11 (NIV)

“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:42-43 (NIV)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5 (NIV)

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (NIV) 

“ “See I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.”

Isaiah 65:17-25 (NIV)

God watching over us: 

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”

Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) 

“You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”

Psalm 139:2-3 (NIV) 

“He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Psalm 121:2-4 (NIV)

“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.”

Psalm 33:18-19 (NIV)

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.”

Psalm 33:12-15 (NIV)

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 (NIV)

I hoped this helped you and I hope that you have a blessed day