Day 278 - Grow Closer to God

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 Grow Closer to God Day 278 In moments of grief you always have the choice of how you are going to respond. Dr. Ray Pritchard describes Job's response to his intense losses and tragedies: "The Bible says that when he had lost everything, he bowed his face before the Lord, and he worshiped. "When you face those moments when the entire world has turned against you, you have a choice. You can either turn away from the Lord and walk away from the only hope that you have, or you can fall on your face before the Lord and say, 'Oh God, have mercy. Oh God, I do not understand, but I do believe that You are the eternal God, and I commit my soul to You.' "If you let your grief lead you back to God, in the end your soul will be purified, and you will come into an experience of God greater, deeper, and closer than you have ever known before." Job chose to worship God and in the end was blessed abundantly. "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.' Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (Job 1:20-22 NASB). God, You are powerful and living and real. Have mercy on me; I do not understand why I am going through this. Bless me, Lord, I want to experience You deeper and closer than ever before. 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