Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.     Matthew 5:4 LSB

If you have watched Charles Schulz’s Peanuts series, you have heard Charlie Brown say, “Good Grief!” a time or two. Good grief is a phrase used to imply a mock surprise or annoyance at something where humor is implied. It dates back as far as 1937 and is believed to have come from the story Bay City Blues. Of course, it later went on to be used by Charles Schulz and in some song lyrics.

But if we take the term literally, we may ask ourselves is there any good grief? Grieving usually implies loss or being upset about a particular situation. Can that ever be good? Well, actually it can.

The Bible tells us that those who mourn will be comforted.  I can tell you mourning is easier on a Christian because of God’s comfort. When we have God’s comfort, we know that He is in control, and He will take care of us. We serve a loving God and when we love and serve Him with all our heart, soul and mind, we can be assured he takes good care of us.

We are told in 1 Peter 5:7 we can cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. Psalm 34:18 tells us He is near to the brokenhearted and He saves the crushed in spirit. And we are told in Revelation 21:4 when we get to heaven, He will wipe away every tear and there will be no more mourning or crying or pain.

Grief is sometimes the very thing that draws us near to God. Sometimes it takes something tragic to bring us to our knees and cause us to look up to Him.

I guess you could say grief is good when it brings us closer to God. It can be good when we are comforted by our Creator.

You may ask why there is grief in the first place?  Well, that would be because of our fallen human nature. Grief began back in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned. It exists today because of our sin and will continue to be something we face until we leave this sin filled world.

Our sin should grieve us. It should cause us to mourn. Sin should not be something we celebrate. It should not be something we cling to; it should be something we mourn. We should strive to be rid of it and should be grieved when we return to it or simply can’t let it go.

We have been studying 2 Chronicles chapter 34. King Josiah humbled himself before the Lord and served the Lord and cleaned the land and tried to rid it of idolatry. When the book of the law was found as they were restoring the temple, he was grieved over the sin.

Good grief may be a phrase that was coined to imply humor or false shock or surprise, but there is actually good grief. When we are grieved over our sin, we are at the point where we can get down on our knees and look to the Lord to help us rid ourselves of it. God will help you to let go of your sin if you will only trust Him. When we trust Him it’s easier to obey Him.

If you are grieved by your sin this is good grief. It is grief that can began a cleansing process. Just as grief over the loss of a loved one is a step in the healing process, grief over our sin is a step in removing that sin.

Turn to God, trust in Him and repent of your sin. Your sin grieves God, and it should grieve you as well. God will gladly help you to stand strong against the temptation to continue sinning.

Have you reached the point where your sin grieves you? If so, that is truly good grief, now let God help you do something about it.

Have a great day!