What does the Bible teach us about mourning?

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso

"And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days."  (Genesis 50:10)  

When they arrived at Atad (meaning “Threshing Place of Brambles”), beyond the Jordan River, they held a great and solemn funeral service, with a seven-day period of lamentation for Joseph’s father. 

Mourning takes time. When Jacob died at the age of 147, Joseph wept and mourned for months. When someone close to us dies, we need a long period of time to work through our grief. Crying and sharing our feelings with others helps us recover and go on with life. However, sometimes we need time alone to reflect on those precious memories, which we so often take for granted in this hurry up fast pace of life.

Allow yourself and others the freedom to grieve over the loss of a loved one, and give yourself time enough to complete your grieving process.

In 2 Samuel 1:11-12, David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s people, and for the men of Israel who had died that day.

Mourning is an appropriate human emotional response to the loss of a loved one. “They mourned and wept and fasted all day.” David and his men were visibly shaken over Saul’s and Jonathan’s death. Their actions showed their genuine sorrow over the loss of their king, their friend Jonathan, and the other soldiers of Israel who died that day. 

 They were not ashamed to grieve. And we should not be either.  Today, some people consider expressing emotions to be a sign of weakness. Those who wish to appear strong try to hide their feelings. But expressing our grief can help us deal with our immense sorrow when a loved one passes.

The most vivid example of the love and understanding of God the comforter, to us all who go through trials, sorrows and grief is displayed in (John 11:35)  It simply says that "Jesus wept".

Jesus experienced grief like you and I. John stresses that we have a God who cares. A God who feels your pain, and hurt when we hurt.  This portrait contrasts with the Greek concept of God that was popular in those days—a god with no emotions and no messy involvement with lowly humans. 

Here we see many of Jesus’ emotions—compassion, indignation, sorrow, even frustration. He often expressed deep emotion.  So we should never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to him.  He understands them, for he experienced them too. 

Be honest, and don’t try to hide anything from your Savior. He cares.  Jesus did not hesitate to reveal his emotions. When Jesus saw the weeping and wailing, he too wept openly.  Maybe he sympathizes with their grief, or perhaps he was troubled at their unbelief.  In either case, Jesus showed that he cares enough for you and me in our mourning period, to weep with us in our sorrow.

Ia manuia

failauga p. anoa'i