Healing from Loss– Goodbye My Lover - Purity 832

Healing from Loss– Goodbye My Lover - Purity 832

Purity 832 09/09/2022  Purity 832 Podcast

Good morning,

Today’s photo of a sunset over St. Vincent Gulf from the vantage point of Marino Rocks in Adelaide South Australia comes to us from Dave Baun Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DaveBaunPhotography) who commented that they captured this scene on a “warmer day” because winter begins on May 31^st and goes to August 30^th in Australia. Things are different Down Under, so Dave is now enjoying Springtime as we are moving into Fall and are leaving summer behind.  

Well, it’s Friday and as the sunsets on another work week I have mixed emotions because I am excited and rejoicing because I am picking up a new car at the end of the day and will be driving it to my countryside home to see my wife. So, I am very happy about that.  

But I have to admit that there is a little sadness because I will be trading in my old car, a 2010 Honda CRV,  that will be another thing from my former life that will be “lost”.  The CRV was the “family” car from my previous marriage, and it went with me into to my new life and it was used to move 95 percent of my possessions to my new home.  It was also used to complete my children’s education in the fine are of driving in the tight streets of downtown Hudson. That car saw my kids become teenagers and young adults and it saw me changed from broken to whole as it was with me on my journey from addiction to sobriety.  

So there are lots of good memories tied into that car but admittedly there is also some painful memories because of the trauma of the losses that resulted from my divorce and all the changes since then.  But  through that journey of pain, there was lots of praise and worship in that car as we fought the darkness of fear and depression by proclaiming in song the goodness of God even when we were “in the middle of the road and we didn’t know which way to go”.    Great is your faithfulness to me!

That car drove me to recovery ministry. That car drove me to work in blizzards and to my second job that made the dream of a new home become a reality. So I know it is just an object but even though the high milage on it demands its replacement, I feel like I am losing an old friend.

I’m silly and sentimental so forgive me but in sitting down to write this morning I wanted to encourage those who are grieving or suffering loss that the key to healing is saying “goodbye”. 

I recommend Dr. H. Norman Wright’s “The Complete Guide to Crisis & Trauma Counseling”  to those who may need help in understanding grief, trauma, or loss and it may be helpful to those who need help moving on after loss.  

To move on we say goodbye to the people and things we have lost. Saying goodbye in our hearts allows us to move into the “new normal” of the rest of our lives beyond our grief and pain.  So say goodbye and walk and talk with God on your way to the rest of your life.  We don’t have to forget our loved ones or the things we once had but the Lord’s call on our lives is to keep moving forward.

There are a lot of scriptures about moving forward but Christ’s words in Luke 9:62 come to mind.  The context of that scripture is that people are telling Jesus that they want to follow Him but they are putting conditions on their answer to His call to discipleship.   The passage that came to mind, sort of ironically, considering my advice to “say good bye”, says:

Luke 9:61-62 (NLT2)
⁶¹  Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
⁶²  But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

We have to remember that Christ knows the hearts of people and this exchange is with someone who didn’t follow. So it’s okay to say goodbye, but let’s follow Jesus.

Christ loved His friends and wept when Lazarus died. He knows about loss. And He knows about saying goodbye, as in His dying moments He made provisions for His mother’s care. 

John 19:26-27 (NLT2)
²⁶  When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.”
²⁷  And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

Jesus was saying “Goodbye Mom”.  Or I guess in Jesus’ case it was more like saying “ see you later”.   And that is the case for us too as we will see our departed brothers and sisters in Christ when we go into eternity.  

But for now, we should love deeply, and we should say goodbye to the people and things we have lost to be healed, and we should thank the Lord for allowing us to know such love, such pain, and such sorrow that came from a life in which we got to experience love and joy in the past and where we can move on to know it again in the future when we are faithful to follow the Lord from here to eternity.  

As I was thinking about loss, I remembered the James Blunt, heart breaking song, “Goodbye my lover". (See a lyric video of it here: ( https://youtu.be/4jAyZ4njHsc ) which ends by saying:

“ And I still hold your hand in mine,

In mine when I'm asleep.

And I will bare my soul in time,

When I'm kneeling at your feet.

[2x]

Goodbye, my lover.

Goodbye, my friend.

You have been the one.

You have been the one for me.

 

I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.

I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.

I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.”  (https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jamesblunt/goodbyemylover.html)

I know that the pain of loss can make us feel hollow. But the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to fill us and to comfort us and to give us the strength to say “goodbye” and walk out of the shadows of grief into our new life.

So keep walking and talking with God, and He will you see you through.  

 

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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.

This morning’s meditation verse is:

2 Chronicles 26:16 (NLT2)
¹⁶  But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.

Today’s verse reminds us that pride leads to our downfall as this section of scripture tells of King Uzziah’s blasphemy by doing what He was not allowed to do by trying to perform the duties of the priests, and he was struck by the Lord with leprosy! Uzziah lived the rest of his life with leprosy in isolation until he died. The end.  

So don’t be proud!

My resource only shared the first part of that verse but I wanted to see the context and little did I know that it would be a lesson on God’s holiness and wrath. So don’t ever think that God can not or does not chastise people with disease as a punishment for unfaithfulness or wickedness.    Sometimes disease is a judgment.  And if God is sovereign which He is, he either commands or allows disease and healing according to His ultimate will.  

As disturbing as this can be, I think it is a good lesson to learn. God “don’t play that”. We don’t live in a vacuum. We live in the universe God created and He determined the “days of our lives” and will be in eternity to either welcome us into His kingdom because we put our faith in Christ, or He will be there to judge and send us to a place of eternal torment as His wrath is poured out upon us for our inequities.  

So as much as I encourage people to “walk and talk with God”,  make sure you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and be sure to walk humbly before the Lord because He calls the shots and He can even chastise those who He has called to follow Him when they walk in pride.  

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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we conclude sharing from Clinton E. Arnold’s “Powers of Darkness”

As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Clinton Arnold’s books for your own private study and to support his work.  This resource is available on many websites for less than $20.00.

References to the Powers of Darkness in Paul’s Letters

Word RSV (NIV)	Greek Term	Occurrences
Satan
satan	satanas	Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Thess 2:18; 2 Thess 2:9; 1 Tim 1:20; 5:15
devil	diabolos	Eph 4:27; 6:11; 1 Tim 3:6, 7; 2 Tim 2:26
evil one	ponēros	Eph 6:16; 2 Thess 3:3
prince (ruler)	archōn	Eph 2:2
spirit	pneuma	Eph 2:2
Belial	belial	2 Cor 6:15
the enemy	antikeimenos	1 Tim 5:14
the serpent	ophis	2 Cor 11:3
the tempter	peirazon	1 Thess 3:5
the god of this world (the god of this age)	ho theos tou aiōnou toutou	2 Cor 4:4
angel	angelos	2 Cor 11:14
Principalities and Powers
principalities (rulers)	archai	Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10; 2:15
powers (authorities)	exousiai	1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10; 2:15
powers	dynameis	Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21
dominions (powers)	kyriotētes	Eph 1:21; Col 1:16
thrones	thronoi	Col 1:16
angels/messengers	angeloi	Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 4:9; 6:3; 11:10 (?); 2 Cor 12:7; Gal 1:8 (?); Col 2:18
world rulers (powers)	kosmokratores	Eph 6:12
spiritual hosts (spiritual forces)	pneumatika	Eph 6:12
rulers	archontes	1 Cor 2:6, 8
elemental spirits (basic principles)	stoicheia	Gal 4:3, 8; Col 2:8, 20
demons	daimonia	1 Cor 10:20–21; 1 Tim 4:1

Select Bibliography

Historical Background Works

Aune, David E. “Magic in Early Christianity.” In Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt. II.23.2, pp. 1507–57. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980.

———. “Magic.” In International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 3:213–19. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.

Betz, Hans Dieter, ed. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. Vol. 1: Text. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. This represents a fairly comprehensive collection of Greek and Demotic magical papyri that have been translated into English. It also contains an excellent introduction to the magical papyri by Professor Betz.

Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. 2 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1983, 1985.

Cramer, Frederick H. Astrology in Roman Law and Politics. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society 37. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1954.

Cumont, Franz. Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans. 1912. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1960.

———. The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism. New York: Dover, 1956.

Goodenough, E. R. Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period. 12 vols. New York: Pantheon, 1953.

Grant, Robert M. Gods and the One God. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.

Johnston, Sarah Iles. Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate’s Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature. American Philological Association. American Classical Studies 21. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.

Langton, Edward. Essentials of Demonology. London: Epworth, 1949.

Luck, Georg. Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.

Martin, Luther H. Hellenistic Religions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Russell, D. S. The Message and Method of Jewish Apocalyptic. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1964. See especially chapter nine: “Angels and Demons.”

Schürer, Emil. The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ. Revised and edited by Geza Vermes, Fergus Millar and Martin Goodman. Vol. 3, Part 1. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1986. See especially chapter seven: “Incantations and Books of Magic.”

Smith, Jonathan Z. “Hellenistic Religion.” In Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8:749–51. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 1979.

Works Treating the Theme of Principalities and Powers

Anderson, Neil T. Victory over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ. Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1990.

———. The Bondage Breaker. Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1990.

Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians: Power and Magic. The Concept of Power in Ephesians in Light of Its Historical Setting. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph 63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

———. “Principalities and Powers.” Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, forthcoming.

———. “ ‘Principalities and Powers’ in Recent Interpretation.” Catalyst 17.2 (1991):4–5.

Berkhof, Hendrik. Christ and the Powers. Tr. J. H. Yoder. Scottdale: Herald Press, 1977.

Bubeck, Mark. The Adversary. Chicago: Moody, 1975.

———. Overcoming the Adversary. Chicago: Moody, 1984.

Bufford, Rodger K. Counseling and the Demonic. Resources for Christian Counseling 17. Dallas: Word, 1988.

Caird, G. B. Principalities and Powers. Oxford: Clarendon, 1956.

Dickason, C. Fred. Demon Possession and the Christian: A New Perspective. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1987.

Garrett, Susan R. The Demise of the Devil: Magic and the Demonic in Luke’s Writings. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989.

Green, Michael. I Believe in Satan’s Downfall. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.

Hiebert, Paul. “Power Encounter and Folk Islam.” In Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road, pp. 45–61. Edited by J. Dudley Woodberry. Monrovia, Calif.: Missions Advanced Research & Communications Center, 1989.

Kraft, Charles H. Christianity with Power: Your Worldview and Your Experience of the Supernatural. Ann Arbor: Vine Books, 1989.

Leivestad, Ragnar. Christ the Conqueror: Ideas of Conflict and Victory in the New Testament. London: SPCK, 1954.

Mott, Stephen C. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982.

O’Brien, Peter T. “Principalities and Powers: Opponents of the Church.” In Biblical Interpretation and the Church, 110–50. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984.

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1986.

Schlier, Heinrich. Principalities and Powers in the New Testament. Freiburg: Herder, 1961.

Stauffer, Ethelbert. New Testament Theology. 5th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1955.

Stewart, J. S. “On a Neglected Emphasis in New Testament Theology.” Scottish Journal of Theology 4 (1951):292–301.

Twelftree, Graham. Christ Triumphant: Exorcism Then and Now. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1985.

Webber, Robert. The Church in the World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.

Williams, Don. Signs, Wonders, and the Kingdom of God. Ann Arbor: Vine, 1989.

Wimber, John, and Kevin Springer. Power Evangelism. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986.

———. Power Healing. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.

Wink, Walter. Naming the Powers. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.

———. Unmasking the Powers. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986.

———. Engaging the Powers. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, forthcoming.^[1]

---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the mt4christ247 podcast!

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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship

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^[1] Clinton E. Arnold, Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul’s Letters (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 1992), 218–238.