Hope in the midst of grief

Grief is a real emotion. To be sad or have sorrow is something the Lord demonstrated to us at the death of his good friend Lazarus. We all have grieved the loss of a relationship or at rejection. Most of us have grieved over the death of someone we cared about and loved deeply. In my experience, people deal with or express their grief in various ways. Some are quiet, some are more vocal in expressing their grief with crying, or fits of anger, frustration and questions of why. People grieve in many ways and I try to let them grieve however it may express itself.
For those who are followers of Christ there is a difference in how we ought to grieve. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Paul states "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." For the believer who is left behind we are to grieve but we are to grieve with hope. Hope of what? Hope in this sense is a confident expectation of what the Lord will do. Our hope is in Christ whether we live or die. His promises are true and we wait in eager expectation to see all of them fulfilled. God never abandons those who belong to him. So like the Apostle Paul who said in Philippians 1:20-21 "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Grieving is never easy and there are not "pat" answers to it. We must look to the Lord and his word whenever we face these difficult situations.