{"id":31150,"date":"2026-08-26T10:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T08:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/?p=31150"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:30:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T13:30:29","slug":"online-support-through-grief-and-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/online-support-through-grief-and-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Support Through Grief and Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The church in Caracas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On June 24, an earthquake hit Venezuela, leaving more than 6,400 people dead, around 86,300 injured, with thousands still missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disciples, of course, are not immune to the consequences of events such as these, but such times beg the question: what can we learn from Scripture? From Exodus 15:26, “For I am the Lord who heals you,” we learn that God is, above all, a God who seeks to heal us, not only spiritually, but also physically, emotionally, and mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jorge and Patty Diaz are grief counselors in the church in Mexico who have provided online grief support since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the Venezuela earthquake, they held an online meeting with many disciples from the church in Caracas. Thankfully, the disciples were safe, and so was their property, but they were affected emotionally and spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Scripture, we learn that sometimes after a victory (God’s people crossing the sea), we may still face a desert, a challenging environment that threatens us and puts our faith to the test again. We may doubt; we may fear and forget times when God has provided a victory, but he is there to heal us, as many times as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s church is a place to bring hope and peace amid disasters, sorrow, and pain. Jorge and Patty plan to continue holding regular online meetings in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A different perspective on suffering<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Christians, we often forget that God’s logic and purposes aren’t always explained in light of our own understanding (Isaiah 55:8\u20139). Even when we say “God is in control,” tragedy and suffering can still leave us asking, “Where is God in the midst of this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “Ministry of Support in Loss Processes” invites you and members of any church to join our next group (only eight to 10 places remain), meeting for four sessions on Sundays via Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Michael Messina will lead the first session. A disciple for several decades and former minister in the Los Angeles church, he now lives in Dallas and works as a therapist, psychologist, and professional counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group offers tools to help you through critical moments, protecting your physical, emotional, and spiritual health from consequences that can leave you unable to function in daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n