In a 2010 survey conducted by LifeWay Research, 72% of Americans between the ages of 18-29 say they are “more spiritual than religious.” Spirituality is a vague term. I think I know what people mean when they say they are spiritual, sort of. It sounds like they acknowledge there is something beyond the mere physical and emotional sides of life.

 

I’ve heard some people describe their spirituality as a “force,” not necessarily God, that draws them to connect with something bigger than them. This force also weaves them into the fabric of nature, thus many of them are deeply committed to the greening of our world. Others say their “force” is not outward, but inward, thus the popular expansion of eastern meditative practices.

 

All this should be respected. There is no justification for hate, and all the byproducts that go with it, between people who are spiritual or religious or organized denominationally or none of the above.

 

My concern for anyone who is grieving the death of someone or something significant in their life is that they believe in what gives them concrete hope and relative peace to walk through their particular storm.

 

What you believe going into a personal storm will determine how well you walk through that storm. That is why I feel it is important for me to share my personal spiritual beliefs so you can, at least, see how they held up under the heat of blistering grief.

 

There are four cords in the rope of belief that kept me from falling into virtual despair when my former wife of 27 years and my 18 year old daughter left me one day and never came back. A car wreck killed both of them. Let me share those four cords with you.

 

First, the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the primary source of authority over what I believe. I don’t feel compelled to prove the authenticity of the Bible because it has proven trustworthy in dozens of personal storms in my life. However, if you need evidence about the reliability of the Bible as a source of Truth, I recommend you use your favorite search engine and look up the names of C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias. Their writings are easy to secure.

 

When I say the Bible is my source of authority for the beliefs I hold, I don’t mean that other sources of truth are bad or evil. What it does mean is that I have volitionally chosen to, by faith and fact, believe the Bible to have ultimate say in what I believe and how I live. The Bible is what taught me that I can grieve with hope.

 

The apostle Paul wrote the church in Thessalonica in the first century;

 

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."

 

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

 

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

Second, the source of my salvation is Jesus of Nazareth. I am not a Christian because I am a white male from European decent. My faith is placed in Jesus because I believe what the Bible says he is, the Son of God. I don’t believe in the conservative Jesus or the liberal Jesus, I believe in the Jesus who is fully revealed in both the Old and New Covenants of God, as recorded in the Bible.

 

Third, the source of my comfort is the Holy Spirit. As H20 has three distinct forms, water, steam and ice, so I believe in a triune deity; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the primary function of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life is to bring comfort. The Holy Spirit also does other things, but when you are grieving The Holy Spirit is God’s triage unit sent to comfort your soul. I advise people to verbally call on the Holy Spirit to give them comfort in times of grief. He is faithful and He will comfort you.

 

Forth, the source of my encouragement is the people who believe like me. In the book and video series I counseled you to find a core group of people who believe as you believe. When the storms of life hit, these are the people who can stand soul to soul with you. They will be there with you when everyone else has made a gracious appearance. These are the people who have no other motive than to help heal your wounded soul.

 

If you wish to contact me for any further spiritual counseling, click the “contact” link on the home page. If you do not have a Bible, I will get one to you free of charge.