“AND many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.” John 12:19
When it comes to healing a wounded faith, the surest way to fail is to be in a hurry! Healing takes time, a relapse can be more dangerous than the disease itself. Grieving is not just an emotional release—it is a means, a way by which we survive the crisis. It is at the time of grief that we find ourselves most authentic, rather than artificial.
I really feel badly when people, especially ministers or religious leaders, put down or belittle the process of grieving. I have been to evangelical funerals where people are looked down upon when they cry so, instead of crying, they hypocritically greet the bereaved family "Congratulations," this is wrong!
In my conviction, once a person fully trusts Christ as His Saviour, his destiny for heaven is sure. I do not doubt that, yes, the soul of a saint is heaven-bound. It is here on earth that grieving helps us survive the pain and ultimately accept the loss! The process of healing starts with the willingness to grieve!
Grieving alone helps; grieving together with others helps a whole lot! Please do not forget the important role of the friends and neighbors of the two sisters who grieved with them. Honestly, that is the kind of healing we miss nowadays. We need a grieving community to connect with when faith is wounded! You do not only grieve when someone you love dies, you also need to grieve when a dream dies; when a love affair fails to blossom; when regrets in life are not properly buried in the cemetery of acceptance—grieve, weep, cry. Jesus, Himself, wept! Believe me, before your heart hardens, find time to grieve. Go to a cemetery and cry! What happens when a wounded faith learns to grieve? In grieving we finally admit that someone or something precious has been taken or lost, gone beyond retrieval.
In grieving, we also accept our powerlessness to bring it back to life or to fully restore something which cannot be restored. We also slowly learn the many phases of adjustment which we need to move through on the long journey to recovery. Deny yourself the chance to grieve and you will reap, not only the pain of a wounded faith but also, the possibility of severe infection setting into your wounded faith. When it is rapidly being eaten by the bacteria of unbelief, then decay is inevitable.
Do not forget grieving helps! Grieving together helps a lot! No grieving, no healing. By the way, grieving does not remove the pain but it surely helps us survive!
The word "mercy" in the Kenyan language is best translated like this: "God weeps with you." Do not wait too long before the wounded faith gets infected. Ask God to help you go through grieving; humbly get strength from others and graciously allow others to grieve when your wound has now healed.
Thanks for reading, I always write from my heart.