Who is not acquainted with these feelings? Who has not felt any of these feelings at some point in our lives? We all have and the sad truth is, we all will face them sooner or later. Sadness, grief and sorrow are negative feelings, often leading the sufferer to utter despair. They give a sense of hopelessness, leaving the sufferer often void of any hope at all. Nobody wants to have these feelings, we all try to avoid them whenever we can. However, sometimes, these feelings can be given to us by God to teach us a lesson: “Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow”( Ps 107:39)
Whenever we walk in sin (pride and arrogance for example) and think we are invincible, or whenever we keep on sinning and burying our heads in the sand in order not to confront ourselves with our behavior, God might just want to teach us a lesson and send those feelings of oppression, affliction and sorrow our way. He does not do that because He hates us, but because He loves us. He wants us to recant of our sins and our sinful behavior. Otherwise he cannot bless us! Oppression is a negative feeling that leaves us often feeling like if we were imprisoned. Oppression can take many forms, it can be of demonic origin, but it can be due to social factors also. Affliction usually results from oppression, and affliction always ends up in feelings of sorrow. Whenever we feel afflicted, we are vulnerable and this vulnerability will often lead to feelings of sorrow. The stronger the oppression, the stronger the affliction and thus the stronger the sorrow.
Now I ask you, are you going through such a period right now in your life? Is your sorrow due to oppression and affliction? Have you sinned and angered God in any way? If you have, get right down on your knees and pray for forgiveness. Turn from your sins and make amends with God. You might find yourself free from these negative feelings and circumstances in your life sooner than you would expect! However, if your walk with the Lord is upright and you cannot think of anything you have done wrong, your oppression, affliction and sorrow might be of demonic origin. Sometimes, without us even being aware of it, we open the doors to the enemy in our lives. Oppression is often a sign of demonic activity in our lives. Bind those demons in the name of Jesus, and see what happens. Go into prayer and ask God for revelation as to how they got into your life. He is faithful, He will reveal the doorway to you!
Another form of sadness and sorrow is when we mourn the loss of someone we dearly loved. That is indeed and without any doubt very painful for all of us. Nobody wants to let go of a loved one, even though we know that we will meet with them some day in heaven. Mourning is a period of utter sadness, a period in which all kinds of feelings will arise. Mourning, quite often opens the door for all kinds questions to answers we do not have, questions as to the why we have to let go of a loved one, especially if these have gone way before their appointed time. More over, is not unusual for mourners to blame God for their pain and loss. Mourning you know, has its stages. First of all it is the shock, the feeling of numbness, the unbelief that someone has died. Then usually, most often after the funeral, feelings of hopelessness, despair and utter pain will arise, specially if the diseased one has lost his or her life prematurely.Then comes the feeling of emptiness, feelings that a gap or a hole are left behind in one’s life.This is the most difficult time of mourning, for this is the period in which you have to come to terms with the loss, which not always is easy.
However, the Bible tells us that a period of mourning should be no longer than thirty days (Deut. 34:8). This means that after this period your intense sorrow should diminish. I say should diminish, for the feelings of intense loss take longer to overcome, that is only too natural. After this period you will still feel the pain of the loss, you will still cry if you remember that diseased loved one or when looking at a picture of them, without any doubt. That is part of the process of mourning. What the Bible however, means by this is that after the appointed period of mourning the household should move on with life. Mourning artifacts should be cast off and the light should be let in, in a manner of speech. You should take up your life again and go on living it, the best you can. God has not forbidden for you to mourn your loss, but what He wants for you is to go on with your life and not stay behind stuck in your grief. Standing still is not moving forward. God wants you to move forward with your life, He has a plan for your life, but of course you know that.
When this period of mourning, of intense sorrow and sadness prevails too long, the cause might be demonic as I said earlier. Demons prey on pain of others, especially in those times when a loved one died. The atmosphere is so negative, the pain so heavy, the feelings so numb that demons will fly in like flies. It is not uncommon therefore that demonic activity will start to manifest in a mourner’s life at this stage. If a person’s grief is too long, that person should seek help in deliverance. We all know too well that even if we will feel the loss for a lifetime, laughter and joy will return at some stage in your life.
A good point for consideration is this verse: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?”(Ps 13:2). This verse is very revealing for it tells us that if we hold on to our sorrow too long we hold on to the demonic in our lives. The enemy is exalted when we prolong our sorrow. To exalt means to promote someone or something. When we give in to our pain too long, the demons of pain are exalted, are promoted, are being fed and thus will remain in your life. You reinforce their stay in your life by prolonging your sorrow. This should not be so. God ordained us to remove and overcome our enemies out of our lives, not to keep them in our lives!
Furthermore, the Bible tells us that “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better”. (Eccl. 7:3)
This is especially true whenever we are being taught a lesson. We humans learn things through hardship, we hardly learn any lesson at all when life goes well for us. When life goes well for us we enjoy it, but when we face adversity and hardship we usually stand still and think about our lives and our mistakes. Our hearts learn from these mistakes. But on the other hand if our pain is too deep and our hearts cannot bear this pain, it will break our spirit.
“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken”.( Prov. 15:13). This is not only dangerous but it is one of the most difficult things to get through. A broken spirit looses its flavor, its will to survive, its strength. It is not uncommon for people who suffer from a broken spirit to loose the will to live or to serve and believe in God. Many people suffer from a broken spirit, and maybe everyone of us has felt this kind of pain at one point or another.
The difference lies in how long this period of a broken spirit prevails and how you deal with it. If it lasts too long, you might loose your will to live. In any case, this kind of sorrow is dangerous for you because it opens the door to all kinds of demonic activity in your life. Demons will attach themselves to you during this time, in order to end up destroying your life. It is not uncommon for people who face this sorrow to end up with more problems than they have asked for or wished for. These are induced most often by these demons. This period is also a period in which a deep depression can take root in your life.
“For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.”( Ps. 38:17)
If negative feelings of any kind prevail too long, depression can easily set in. Usually, when one suffers from a broken spirit, depression is already existent.
Another source for sorrow, however strange this might sound to you, is wisdom. The more you get to know about this world the more sad you will find yourself to become.
“For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. “(Eccl 1:18). I hear you asking why. The answer is rather simple. The more knowledge of the state of affairs of this world you will get, the more ugliness you will find out. That is sad to say unavoidable. You will find that this world is utterly corrupt, that people who run this world are usually corrupt as well and truth’s you lived by all throughout your life, are nothing more than lies. That can be very shocking. This can bring down sorrow. Listen, I am not saying you should get no knowledge in order to prevent sorrow. No, I think you ought to get as much knowledge as you can, but this knowledge must be given to you by God. If you want wisdom and knowledge from God, ask for it, you will soon find yourself receiving it. However, be prepared that the wisdom you will get will, not always be easy or nice. In truth, it can be quite shocking, but if God leads you, He is in control over you and will keep you from harm. That is the good news. He will lead you into the wisdom and knowledge wisely, so that you will not find yourself in a state of sorrow that you cannot handle.
Now that we have been discussing some forms of sadness, sorrow and grief, let me give you some advice as to how to overcome it. If your sadness is too prolonged,if you cannot get out of it, contact us, we might be able to help, otherwise seek help from a professional. Deliverance might be very helpful, but deliverance alone will not be sufficient. Usually after deliverance comes a period of healing. This period must be justly monitored in order to maintain you delivered, and not only that, but to help you get over your sadness, sorrow, pain or grief. Need help? Contact us.