The Empty Chair

Although the holidays can be a marvelously joyous time of year, for some it can be a time of great sadness and grief as they reflect on loved ones who have died over the past year. Are you struggling with grief this holiday season? When you see the empty chair at the table, are you overcome with grief? Are trying to figure out how to process and cope with the feeling? Did you know that Jesus dealt with the same thing?

Isaiah 53 refers to Jesus as the Man of Sorrows Who was acquainted with grief. Hebrews 4 lets us know that Jesus faced all of the same things that we do. As Hebrews 4 shares, we have a High Priest Who gets it. He gets our struggle with grief. Jesus understands grief and loss because He experienced it. He gets it. Since He gets it, we should follow His example in dealing with grief and loss. We should grieve like Jesus.

In the Gospels, we see that Jesus dealt with grief and sorrow in the context of community. He didn’t isolate Himself. He also constantly turned to prayer. He didn’t ignore how He felt; He was completely aware of His emotions and feelings.

Follow Jesus’ example and choose not to isolate yourself. Also, just like Jesus, you should be aware of your feelings. There is a great difference from being aware of your feelings and being led by them. When is the last time you took inventory of your soul (your mind, your will, your emotions)? I encourage you to do that today. I want you to take inventory of your soul as you listen to The Empty Chair. I shared this message last year and I have heard from people since then how much it helped them deal with loss. I truly believe that Jesus wants to help you with your grief and enable you to have a joyous holiday season.

Praying For You,

Kerrick