Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Side by side, these Psalms 87 and 88 seem wildly different. Psalm 87 is a song of celebration. It pictures Zion as a place of glory and belonging. God's presence makes His people secure, and His city shines as a place where all can find their home. Psalm 88, however, is a raw lament. The Psalmist feels abandoned, surrounded by darkness, and left without comfort. Together, they remind us of the full range of the believer's journey. There are days when we rejoice in the security of belonging to God, and days when we can only cry out from the pit. Both affirm that God welcomes not only our praise but also our pain.

The pain of grief is something I often talk about at work, how it comes in waves rather than following a linear progression of stages. Waves of anger. Waves of doubt. Waves of sadness. Any one of those, small to tsunami-sized, depending on the moment or the memory. I talk about how grief's like a Sunday stroll through a minefield, the kind of stroll where any leisure step in thought or word or topic might trigger the whole thing to blow on an otherwise carefree, sunny day.

The following description is golden: Grief's just like glitter. Have you ever spilled glitter? Those tiny, shiny specks everywhere, stuck to everything? They're nearly impossible to brush away, wipe off, or sweep up. Do they ever really go away? 

Judah once gave me a glittered, homemade four-leaf clover. I found traces of leprechaun green in my hair, on my face, and throughout the house for months after. Such is the nature of grief. One billion bittersweet reminders of loss scattered across the heart, always catching light at the most unexpected times, reflecting all the things that were and never will be again. 

What a mess they make, glitter and grief. And just like spilled glitter, grief's gotta' be swept up, dealt with, addressed. The thing about grief is, just like that leprechaun green glitter, I'm bound to find stray specks at the most unexpected times throughout the day; on my mind, on my heart, or in the memories of my social media feed. Every time a glimmer of memory comes into the light, I want to sweep it under a rug: avoid it, ignore it, cover it up in denial. That works a little while, but what the brain sweeps under in denial, the heart cannot, and I always end up swept up myself. 

Whatever you are grieving today: a person, a place, or a sense of permanence, a particular dream? Don't sweep your grief under the rug. Sweep it up. Acknowledge that it's there, both the reality of loss and the mess it has made. Each time you find stray specks in unlikely places, lift those glimmers of grief to the light of Love and Truth - just as David did. God can handle our deepest despair; when all we can bring Him is sorrow. Allow the One who loves you to comfort you.

I love Psalms. I love that passages like this can be found side by side. I love that David's highs and lows encourage my faith as much as John's steady confidence in God's love for him. These two passages remind me that grief and joy are not opposing emotions. They are not mutually exclusive; one or the other. They can and do co-exist. Grief is not minimized in joy, and joy is not cheapened in seasons of grief. In fact, it deepens. Or at least I think it can when we remember there is peace in God's presence. In fact, David reminds us that wherever He is, there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16), and there is nowhere we can go to escape His presence (Psalm 139:7-12)

The Spirit of God dwells within us! All who trust in Jesus have access to His presence because we are His dwelling place. As the Psalmist says in chapter 87, "Singers and dancers alike say, 'All my springs are in You.'" The source of all joy and celebration comes from the presence of God. From His presence flows comfort, peace, and joy and life; even in the midst of loss and pain.

Prayer: God, all our springs are in You. You are the source of all of our joy. You are the source of all our comfort in times of despair. You're the source of all of our peace. We lift every glimmer of grief and joy to the light of your love and truth today. Amen.  

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.

• SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
• OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises?
• APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you?
• PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.

James Weekly Verse Challenge

Want to go beyond just reading God's Word? Want to take action? As we study the Book of James in the "Faith That Works" message series, we encourage you to do more than read the theme verse. Each week, we challenge you to memorize the verse and put it into action. Beginning Monday, October 6, we will text the weekly verse on a downloadable wallpaper on Monday mornings. Download the mobile wallpaper to your phone and memorize the weekly verse as you strive to live it daily. 

Text "JAMES" to 601-299-4493 to receive each week's theme verse.