Day 245 - Confess Self-Preoccupation

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 Confess Self-Preoccupation Day 245 We need to be straightforward at this point. Some of you are stuck in grief because you have allowed your loss to become the central focus of your life, dominating your existence. Your loss has become larger than all other relationships, larger than your purpose for existence, larger than God. But how does one get unstuck? What does one do with the loneliness and suffering? Elisabeth Elliot says, "He gets down on his knees. Lifts up his hands in the presence of the Lord, and says, 'Lord here is this self-pity. I confess it as a sin. This self-isolation, I confess it as a sin.' And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin, and He can deliver you. He wants to deliver you from all self-preoccupation.'" You must recognize that your self-preoccupation is a sin and you need to be freed from it. When you admit this to God and seek His forgiveness and help, He will clean your heart and free you from this entrapment. "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:14). Living God, I want to serve You, not myself. I am only making things worse by focusing on my loss, which in reality is focusing on myself. I confess my self-preoccupation, and I ask that You forgive me and deliver me from my sinful habits. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. 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