Day 273 - Growing Spiritually

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Growing Spiritually Day 273 "The death of my parents was a wake-up call of my own spiritual life," admits Dr. Robert Jeffress. "I had wandered away from the Lord and nobody knew it; I was a pastor, a staff member of the church. But in my heart I had wandered away from the Lord. God used that experience as a wake-up call for me. "I think the process of losing loved ones can be a healthy experience if you allow God to use you and mold that experience in your life to strengthen your relationship with Him." One of the most vital changes that grieving can produce in you is spiritual growth. It is possible to grow more in a year of grieving than in several years of life with few difficulties or problems. One extremely effective way to pray is to use words from the Bible. Make Colossians 1:9-12 a personal prayer by replacing the pronouns with "I" and "me" as you pray: "[I] have not stopped praying … and asking God to fill [me] with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And [I] pray this in order that [I] may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that [I] may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified [me] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755