A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:4
Have you ever known anyone that because they are a Christian, they believed that showing sadness was wrong? So they tried always to look and be happy in front of people.
You may not have, but a relative in my family was like that. It was a long-time years later, that I realized that all the time that she spent in bed supposedly praying and fasting for people, were times when she was depressed and didn't want to get out of bed.
.Not that she wasn't praying for people. She may have been. But she was not telling why she was really spending time in bed and eventually, I would figure it out.
It was what her church was teaching her. You always have to put on a happy face, don't ever be depressed. And going even further about depression, they taught that it is being weak in one's faith. Depression is a sin.
It was her way with dealing with deep sorrow that she couldn't show to people
And yet, is it? A sin, I mean.
I want to guide you to some people in the Bible that shows us that God's people and struggled with it.
Job, Jeremiah, Martha, David, Moses, Jonah and Elijah were a few. And yet God was faithful to them. And so, if you read their stories, what do you think?
In fact, consider this:
Jesus wept. John 11:35
Why did Jesus weep? Because he was happy. Right?
Wrong. He wept because his friend Lazarus had died.
Now he didn't have to weep. Because he went on to bring Lazarus back to life. So why did he?
Maybe to show us that it is natural to weep when we lose a loved one to death. Even though-we know that some of those people have gone on to be with God. We can be happy about that, but sad when they actually leave us behind.
But Jesus wept at other times as well. After all, he took on the flesh of a human being even though he was God. So, it only stands to reason that he would feel the emotions of man.
Do you suppose God ever laughed? I don't mean as in mockery kind of way, that the Bible speaks of. I mean a happy kind of laugher. As in being joyful.
Sure. He created us with all emotions. And certainly, laughter is one of them. After all, in Genesis 21:6, Sarah said this:
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
She laughed because she had born her husband Abraham a son in her old age. I am not so sure I would have laughed at having a baby at that age. But then I did not get to my old age, childless. So, it was funny to her that the son she has so longed for, was now given to her.
Certainly, it was a happy time.
Yes, there is a time of sadness and likewise a time to mourn. A time to laugh and be joyful.
But then there is also a time to dance.
David danced before the Lord. 2 Samuel 6:14
Miriam danced and sang to the Lord Exodus 15:20
Dancing in the right context is not wrong. Sadly, in society today, it has become a sexual thing that does make it wrong.
And so, in conclusion to today's blog, there is time:
To weep. To laugh. To mourn. And to dance. It's all a part of our seasons of life.
Thanks for coming today, Friends. God bless!
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