“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25
Each year, many of us experience sorrow. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a home, a job, a beloved pet, or something else dear to us, no one seems to escape this life without tasting sorrow.
Isaiah 53:3 refers to Jesus as a Man of Sorrows, one well acquainted with suffering and grief. If anyone understands the heartbreaking sorrow we experience, we can know He does.
It’s hard for many of us to let go of sorrow, and if not intentional at the end of a year, instead of saying goodbye to it, we can wind up loaded down with a year’s worth of heaviness that we drag into the new year with us.
Most of us don’t see the harm in carrying it around for a while longer, not realizing the more we hang on to it, the more we become attached. Soon, sorrow can become a way of life for us.
Hebrews 12:1 urges, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Although there is a time to grieve, that’s only for a while, not for a lifetime. When grieving becomes a way of life we need to say goodbye to it. So how do we do that, especially when we’re still feeling the pain?
Here are five ways to say goodbye:
1. Look away. When we focus on sorrow, it becomes all we can think of. Refocusing our view means consciously deciding to look past the sorrow of what we’ve lost to see all that we still have left.
Rather than fixating on sorrow, the Apostle Paul encourages, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
2. Look ahead. In Luke 9:62, “Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'”
Likewise, Genesis 19:26 reminds us of what happened when Lot’s wife looked back at what she was losing: “But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Looking back at our sorrows keeps us from looking ahead, which differs from remembering God’s goodness that encourages us to move forward.
Rather than focusing on the year’s sorrows and carrying them to the next year, we can look ahead with hope and expectation. As Proverbs 23:18 assures us, “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
3. Look higher. Rather than focusing over and over again on this year’s sorrows, Colossians 3:2 urges: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
There are heavenly treasures we can access on earth. Instead of concentrating on earthly sorrows, we can look up. “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).
4. Look beyond. 2 Corinthians 4:18 encourages, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Everything on earth will one day pass away, but the things God has for us are everlasting. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”
5. Look at Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-3 calls us to look to our Savior. When we do, we see that the things we hang onto and carry around with us are there to drag us down, but when we look at Jesus and what He endured on our behalf, the sorrows give away to His splendor.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Help us let go and say goodbye to a year’s worth of sorrows. Strengthen us to look ahead, away, higher, beyond, and to fix our eyes on Jesus.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©unsplash
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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Originally published Thursday, 02 January 2025.
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