“Is it God’s purpose to make you feel like a sinful worm when you deal with tragedy?” is a look at an article posted on The Gospel Coalition website about “Miscarriage and the Confusion of Sinful Grief.” That original article at TGC sends up a number of red flags regarding the topic of miscarriage and grieving so I’m glad The Wartburg Watch wrote this. The discussion in the comments is also very good.

My own miscarriage before I had Caroline opened up many theological questions for me, but thankfully I never felt condemned or sinful for grieving. The church today has a significant problem understanding how to minister to people dealing with grief, depression, chronic illness, etc. It’s a huge field of ministry, but people are too enamored with Joel Osteen’s fake brand of Happy Face “Christianity” to realize this.

Losing a child to miscarriage is tragic enough. To beat yourself up and think of yourself as sinning because you are feeling and sorting through strong emotions in your grief only adds to the tragedy.

In my darkest and hardest moments, this is one of the verses I turned to time and again (emphasis mine):

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
~ Isaiah 40:11

In my lowest moments, I knew the Great Shepherd was gathering me close to his heart. He will do that for all the sheep who know Him.

Especially the grieving mothers.