Recently, someone at church asked me for some scriptures to meditate on in their time of grief. It caused me to reflect on what helped me through the storm of losing my mom years ago. Meditation on scripture and song through lectio divina was a real gift. I share with you some of what I shared with him.I know grief is a long journey.
Here are some ideas for your meditation. They really helped me when my mom died. Psalm 23 which you mentioned certainly did, too. That psalm came to life for me as a reminder that Christ will walk with me through the dark valley. I meditated on the way each season of my life was in the psalm ... sometimes it's green pastures, sometimes it's clear waters, sometimes it's the dark valley of the shadow of death, sometimes it's
I loved parts of Isaiah 43. This is a wonderful passage about how God will see us through anything … “when you walk through the fire I’ll be with you.” Related to that, I meditated a lot on a traditional hymn that reflects the images of Isaiah 43. Here are the words:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”
Something else that helped me was to mediate on various scriptures such as these:
Psalm 91 - God protects us
Psalm 139 - God knows us so deeply and personally
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 - Our consolations are as abundant as our sufferings
2 Corinthains 12:5-10 - When I am weak, God is strong
1 Kings 19:11-12 - Hearing the still small voice
2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16-18 - Though bodies waste away, inner nature is renewed every day
Jeremiah 29:4-7 - When you are in exile, choose to live. I wrote an article once that was published based on meditation on this scripture. I have attached it for you. (NOTE: It may be found at The Exile of Grief.)
Blessings during your time of grief. There are consolations and holy moments along the way.
Warmly,
Steve
