The Problem of Death in Your Life, Part 2 (God's Solutions for Today's Problems)

Our passage from the Word of God today is Revelation 21:4. It reads, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Our quote for today is from William Penn. He said, “For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.”

Our problem today is "The Problem of Death in Your Life" (part 2) from the book, "The Guide to Biblical Counseling" by Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Ron Hawkins.

Let's discuss what the grieving person needs:

Philippians 1:21 says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

David K. Switzer has described eight needs that must be fulfilled for effective resolution of the grieving process:

1. Accept the reality and finality of the physical death.

2. Become aware of and express all the feelings about the loss or toward the deceased. Sometimes this concerns the way the person died.

3. Break the emotional ties with the deceased; that is, not act as though he or she is still physically present.

4. Break habitual patterns of speech and the behaviors that assume the deceased is physically present.

5. Affirm one’s own value apart from interaction and connection with the deceased.

6. Reaffirm and therefore allow to come back to life those characteristics and behaviors that contribute to one’s ongoing and growing life.

7. Cultivate both old and new relationships.

8. Rediscover meaning in life.