The Power of Grief Over Us
If you are currently walking through a season of loss or struggling with grief, please know you don’t have to carry it alone.
Grief is universal, yet it often catches us unprepared. Whether we choose to ignore it or face it head-on, grief is an unavoidable human response.
Defining Grief
We often think of grief strictly in terms of bereavement, but its reach is much broader:
- Dictionary.com: Deep sorrow, especially that caused by someone’s death.
- American Psychological Association: The anguish experienced after significant loss, usually the death of a beloved person.
- My Definition:Our natural response to loss.
Because grief is a response to loss, we experience it in many areas of life beyond death—including the loss of jobs, broken or changing relationships, and the painful release of our past.
The Physical Toll of Grief
Grief isn’t just an emotional state; it manifests heavily in the human body. As documented by health resources like Marie Curie UK, common physical symptoms include:
- A hollow feeling in the stomach or an altered appetite
- Tightness, heaviness, or pain in the chest and throat
- Difficulty breathing or hyper-sensitivity to noise
- Overwhelming fatigue, weakness, and loss of energy
- Sleep disturbances, insomnia, or even a fear of sleeping
What Scripture Says About Grief
The Bible speaks candidly about the heavy physical and emotional weight of grief. Across the King James Version, roughly 20 Hebrew words are translated into terms related to grief, reflecting its complex origins and causes.
1. Our Hearts Break
The very first mention of grief in Scripture shows the depth of its emotional impact:
“And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
— Genesis 6:6
2. Our Bodies and Eyes Wear Down
In biblical literature, grief and deep sorrow are frequently tied to physical deterioration—especially affecting the eyes:
- Psalm 31:9-10:“Be gracious to me, YHWH, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too…”
- Psalm 6:6:“I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim, I flood my couch with my tears.”
- Job 17:7 (CEB):“My eye is weak from grief; my limbs like a shadow—all of them.”
Grief, Anger, and Isolation: Psalm 73
Book III of the Psalms opens with the writings of Asaph—a chief musician and prophet under David and Solomon. Asaph captured the raw distortion that grief causes inside us:
“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.”
— Psalm 73:21-22
When our hearts are grieved, our spirits often become embittered—angry or resentful at what feels unfair. This mirrors the Anger stage in Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s well-known model of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance). Grief can make us feel alienated from God, from others, and even from ourselves.
Recommended Reading
For a raw, honest look at the emotional process of loss from a Christian perspective, I highly recommend:
- A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis — A profound collection of reflections written following the death of his wife.
Final Thoughts
Grief holds undeniable power over our minds, bodies, and spirits. But while its force is real, it does not have the final say—we also hold power in how we respond to it.
Reflection Question
How has music, prayer, or community helped carry you through periods of deep grief? Leave a comment below.
