Burying our feelings doesn't help, but prayerful grieving can.
Jeremiah's heart was broken by Israel's disobedience and the Babylonian captivity that followed.
Memories of Jerusalem's destruction haunted him(Lamentations 1-2).
Yet he had learned how to lament.
He identified what caused him grief, began to pray, and let his tears flow.
Soon his focus shifted from his loss to the steadfast grace of the Lord's provision.
"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Grief gave way to thankfulness.
Learning to lament can give us a fresh vision of hope and begin the process of healing and restoration.
- Dennis Fisher
I have been through the valley of weeping,
The valley of sorrow and pain;
But the God of all comfort was with me,
At hand to uphold and sustain. - Anon
Grief is itself a medicine. - Cowper