Can a Grieving Heart Worship?

Grief is defined as a feeling of deep sorrow. It is typically associated with death, but we also know grief can come from other circumstances as well – a broken relationship, the loss of a job, a health diagnosis, or an injury…the list goes on and on.

I’ve been surrounded by grief for the past year and a half. My church family is shepherded by six elders, one of which is my husband. In the past sixteen months, all six of them and their wives have suffered extreme loss and experienced deep sorrow.

Three of our elders have lost a parent or in-law. These deaths included a prolonged illness, a massive heart attack, and a work-related accident. One elder lost a grandparent, one lost a brother-in-law to suicide, and another elder lost seven precious weeks with his wife and three young children to being hospitalized and intubated due to COVID-19.

When I look around our church family on Sunday mornings, I don’t just see our grieving elders. I see the family grieving the loss of their infant son, the wife grieving the death of her husband, the woman grieving a cancer diagnosis, the family that will never be the same after their loved one experienced a devastating injury, and many others who are experiencing grief over such things as mental health struggles, addictions, divorce, and infertility.

What has struck me the most during this season of grief is how worship looks different for each of us when our hearts are broken. For instance, some who once danced joyfully while singing in worship now stand still and in silence. Others are worshiping with more joy than ever before, and then there are those like me and my husband who still sing, but often with tears streaming down our faces.

There are those who, amid their grief, have devoured God’s Word, while others have kept it at a distance. Some who are grieving have spent more time in prayer than ever before, while others are too angry or too tired to speak with their Heavenly Father at length or at all.

Because grief is multi-layered, it doesn’t surprise me that our worship is affected by it and that we are all affected differently. This leads me to the question I hope to explore: Can a grieving heart worship?

Click here to read the entire article at Crosswalk.com.