Breaking Free from the Spirit of Grief
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Breaking Free from the Spirit of Grief
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I purposely waited until I knew church had started before walking in. I found my way to the back row and sat down quietly. I didn’t want to encounter any friends or concerned church members that day – I was doing all I could to hold myself together. We had buried my dad the day before after a long and horrible battle with cancer. I had not wanted to attend church that day, but I felt a strong urge from God to go. In reluctant obedience I went. Still, I knew if anyone spoke or tried to comfort me, I would lose my composure, so I hid myself as well as I could.
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Praise and worship had already begun. There I stood, like a statue, unable to worship, just being there was the best I could do…or so I thought.
As I stood there, God began to talk to me. “Am I still God?” He asked. Quietly, I nodded. He continued, “Am I still YOUR God?” “
“Yes” I responded.
He said, “Then go up to the front and dance before Me.”
That was too much to ask. I said, “God, I cannot do that today, I just can’t.”
Again, He intently asked, “Am I still YOUR God?”
I slowly stepped out into the aisle and made my way to the front. It took everything I had in me that day, but I began to dance before the Lord. The first few seconds were hard, but after that, the Holy Spirit took over. Everyone there knew we had just buried my dad. That one act of obedience caused the Holy Spirit to break out in our church that morning like nothing I had ever seen. God showed up big time.
Yet, that’s not the most amazing thing that happened that day. After I danced before the Lord, I can honestly say I never grieved over my dad again, not for one second. I had nothing but peace concerning him, God broke the spirit of grief off me once and for all. That was nineteen years ago.
My dad’s death had not only been hard emotionally, but it was also spiritually devastating. I had stood in faith as firm as I knew how at the time. I just knew God would heal him. At the funeral, one of my sisters said to me, “I thought if anyone had the faith for him to be healed it was you, Kim.” Those words rang in my head constantly. It felt like I failed Dad and the rest of the family. In the final hours of my father’s life, I had sat and sang to him for hours – until he passed from this life to the next. After the funeral, I felt broken. But God changed all that in a moment of time.
These days, I don’t think I know of one family, including myself, since 2020 who has not lost a loved one. Grief seems to be everywhere. Many are having a hard time overcoming it and moving past it. I understand.
However, God showed me something with my dad. A lesson we all need to remember in times of grief. Let’s face it, none of us can escape it, but we can allow God to take us through it and bring us out on the other side in peace. I have no explanation for what God did for me that day in church, but it happened just like I said – the spirit of grief that was consuming me left and never returned.
Only God can do that. If He did it for me, He will do it for you as well.
Isaiah 61:3 tells us one of the reasons Jesus came to earth.
To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Yes, there is a time to mourn. However, God does not want a spirit of grief to overwhelm us. He does not want us to allow grief to color the rest of our lives. That day, God took mourning from me, and gave me the oil of joy. He exchanged my spirit of heaviness for His garment of praise. It changed everything.
Today, if you find yourself in a season of grieving, He wants to do the same for you. However, you have a part to play. That day, I had to obey God and be in the atmosphere He directed me to be in. I also had to lay aside my grief, put my eyes back on Him and praise Him during it. Yes, He is still good. Yes, He is still God. Nothing changes that.
God desires to break the spirit of grief off you and give you an anointing of joy. One that is unspeakable and full of glory! Can He do that when we have faced a devastating loss? Yes, He can. I am living proof. With our God, nothing is impossible – allow Him to do the miraculous in your life today. Allow Him to remove the grief and give you joy. Trust me, it changes everything.
Doesn’t someone you know need to hear this? Please share with a friend.
Kim Potter is a writer and the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to thousands of people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, in Charisma Magazine, and on Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim’s message is one of hope. She speaks to the hearts of those who have grown discouraged or disappointed by the circumstances of life, to impart hope. Her daily inspirational writings are available at www.anewthingministries.com. Photo Credit: Ben White on Unsplash.
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For those who grieve the loss of a loved one or friend, I pray that you would find support, comfort, hope and peace in these words uttered in writing by the Apostle Paul: “Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those Christians who have died so you will not be sad, as others who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died. What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living when the Lord comes again will not go before those who have already died. The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NCV]. In Christ Jesus’ mighty and holy Name, and by His authority, I pray. Amen.
I know what you’re talking about Regina I lost a son of a murder it goes and it comes also it’s going to be 7 years but don’t be listening to what people tell you you grieve how you’re supposed to grieve our red Christian books that another sister from the church where I went that not to be letting people say and tell us that we shouldn’t cry that we should let go we’re supposed to cry it out so that we do not get sick because it could harm our soul but we also have to hold on to Jesus hand and ask him to give us the strength and the everybody is different and there is no one that I know of that can grieve and be over it fast and quick it takes time but in God’s time we will be set free from grieving of a lost one
This was for me! Loosing my father in 2021 from Covid has been a great loss. The grief comes and goes, some people say it’s okay others make me feel like I should not be grieving, both these opinions conflict my understanding. But your blog reminds me of Gods word, there is a time for grief and that grief can way heavy on us. I don’t seem to have the external signs of grief such as constant crying, or daily depression, in fact I’m more busy then ever and so many demands to tend to but it’s in the quiet moments where I feel the heaviness and the grief hits me hard. That’s how I know the pain of the loss is still there. I’ve received and read many books on grief since my dads passing and one of the authors stated that the grief left him after one encounter with God. I didn’t think it’d be possible for me or for most people, because I see so many living with grief. But reading your testimony confirms to me that God does not want me living in grief and that it’s possible to be free from it and that’s it’s not just for a select few but for all of his children. Thank you for sharing your testimony, it hit home for me.
Yes, I have a friend named Merry who needs this and I am sending it to her. Back in 2021 Merry contracted Covid and was airlifted from their home in Evanston, Wyoming to a hospital in Utah, where she was intubated for a long time. Her husband Troy eventually joined her. At one point they were unconscious and intubated next to each other in the same room and were able somehow to communicate with each other. (Troy asked her not to leave him.) Then as she improved, God took him home. God told Merry in an extended vision it was not her time. For the nearly two years since then she has been suffering constant and severe grief, as well as flashbacks and nightmares from her hospital experience. Her 3 children are doing better than she is because on the night their dad died God spoke to one of their sons and sent a “sparkly” angel to their daughter, preparing them. (The family has since moved to a town between San Antonio and Austin TX.) She won’t mind my naming her; she desperately wants prayer for release from the grief and PTSD. Praise God for you, Kim!
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good
Kim, thank you so much for your beautiful article on finding joy in grief. I have faced the loss of my husband three years ago and our 17 yr. old son a number of years back. Grief is definitely hard and unfortunately, it’s something we all experience due to man’s fall. But, like you said, we can find God’s joy in our grief. God has been so faithful to me, showing me that he is a husband for the widow (Is 54:5) and that He is the God of all comfort and Father of mercies. I have been blessed by how He has met me and the peace that He’s given me. Thanks again for your uplifting testimony.
“Count it all Joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1: 2-4 Amen, may it be so in my life. Rejoicing in Your Goodness and Faithfulness Lord Jesus.
A spirit of Grief/loss is not necessarily only coming into our hearts from the death of someone.
Grief can come from unfulfilled visions, a physical ailment that is taking long to heal or may never heal, a broken relationship.
Grief has become very commonplace in our society. Our chosen selfishness, or others sins, will produce grief in those around us. We choose battling, dividing and belittling to get our way.
Being hurt produces a heart of grief.
Yes! It is most necessary to pray for wisdom and seek God’s guidance of repentance and forgiveness to walk healthy and heal well.
I wore a heavy cloak from marital abuse and it is ONLY the LORD that got me out of bed and replaced my grief with His strength and joy!! Yet I had to desperately listen and follow His direction. I am a witness as well.
Thank you for this article.
We are lost sheep in EVERY area of our lives without the only Healer, Christ Himself…who can completely identify with our greatest pains.
It’s why He came.
He sees us.
He knows.
We MUST cry out to Him for our healing. Ask for it. He will!
And now that He has comforted us, we can be His hands and feet and share our healing love to all around us. Through prayer, through church invitations, through our silence while they share.
I am more sanctified from the grief I was allowed to bring to our Abba Father.
Praying for comfort for those who are grieving today. And may we check ourselves and be sure that nothing stands in our way of being near to our Savior. In Jesus name, amen
Well put, Grace.
Grief is a normal response to any loss. A “spirit of grief” is not wanted or needed, but a process of grieving is normal. And, to varying degrees depending on the person and the situation, there is a physiological response which is triggered, affecting our bodies and our minds (our thoughts and feelings). The healing that is needed is similar in some ways to the healing we need for a physical illness. Kim is so right in that it is never intended to last, and God is always willing to deliver, just as He is willing to heal cancer. Why we do not always see it is another discussion.
Kim was delivered through obeying a personal instruction from her Savior. This does not necessarily mean that her personal instruction was intended for everybody in a similar situation. Praise as an antidote is sound doctrine notwithstanding, as evidenced by her quote of Isaiah 61.
God so knows each of our hearts and what we need, and does not want any of his children to suffer, but He also knows what each person will need, and that will pretty much always be something at least somewhat different for Kim than it is for or John or Jane or Grace or Paul.
And, He is always, always, always faithful.
We ARE sheep- we ARE NOT clones