Grief is something we all experience at some point in life when we lose someone or something of great value. It may be a relative or friend, job or career, home or something else. Everyone processes grief differently though for some it may develop into toxic grief, especially if we come under a spirit of grief or spirit of death. Toxic grief can feel like a cloud of heaviness or oppression over us, and this may be addressed as we allow the Lord to minister to our spirit and emotions.
Grief is a natural process as we find ourselves journeying through the valley of shadow of death (Psalm 23:4) and is meant to be a transitional season and not something that defines us or becomes our identity. The key to moving forward is to let go of the person or thing we have become attached to and to release the emotions of loss, guilt, shock, loneliness, fear, pain or unforgiveness etc to the Lord.
Loss of Something
We may experience grief when we lose something, such as the loss of a job, home, pet or something of great value. In such cases we are to let go of our home, job, career, or ‘thing’ as we hand it over to Jesus. It may be that we have developed a soul-tie with our job, home, or thing and this may need to be broken to enable us to move on.
Many years ago when I was on a Sabbatical, I was walking in my local forest feeling the overwhelming joy of the Lord in my heart and shouted aloud, ‘Lord, I surrender my life to You!’ Within minutes, I went from feeling His overwhelming joy to a sense of deep grief. So I asked the Lord if there had been a death, and to my surprise He said, ‘Yes, you are mourning a death to your Paediatric career. You can’t be married to Paediatrics and Me. It has to die so you can be married to Me.’ I had no idea I had been ‘married’ to my career and for the next few months I experienced a supernatural grief as I laid down my career for Him.
Generational Grief
Sometimes we may experience grief in our hearts more so than others because it has come down the blood-line. A lady asked for prayer for she didn’t know why she seemed to feel a deeper sense of grief in her heart compared to others, especially when it was triggered through hearing about a death. The Lord revealed it had come down her mother’s blood-line for there was a spirit of grief in her grandmother and mother that hadn’t been dealt with. As she forgave them for the grief, she was able to hand it to the Lord and renounce the spirit of grief and death in Jesus’ name. After cleansing her blood-line, she sensed the grief had lifted.
Overcoming Grief
A healthy way to grieve is to release our emotions to Jesus and the person or thing we have lost. This may include forgiveness (forgiving the person for any past hurts, rejection, or negative emotions, and asking God to forgive us for our response where we may have judged them or responded negatively etc). Once we have forgiven, we can give our negative emotions to the Lord (including any pain, hurt, anger, rejection, guilt, fear, shock, loss, etc) and then release the person to Jesus. In some cases, there may be some vows or soul-ties that we have made with the person (or thing) that may be preventing us from moving on and these may be addressed where needed.
Grief is a transitional process and involves releasing our emotions to Him as we let go of the past so we may move forward with Him through the valley of shadow of death and up the hill along the path of Life. ‘Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and staff they comfort me’ (Psalm 23).
Dr Angela Walker was a Consultant Paediatrician when God called her to the mission field with Iris Global in Mozambique & South Sudan, where she encountered the healing power of God ‘on the job’. Since her return to England she has written several books on healing and is the Founder of THEO Ministries. For more information visit www.theoministries.com
(More information on Overcoming Grief may be found in the book ‘Divine Heart Surgery’ available on:
www.theoministries.com and www.amazon.com/author/drangelawalker)