Recently at our midweek service at church, there was a reference to Ecclesiastes 3 which says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” My mind immediately went to verse 4 which says, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh” and this thought came to me:
DON'T IGNORE YOUR SEASON.
What do I mean by that? I’ll explain it this way. There are times when life gets difficult. Family issues, financial strain, difficult job situations, and a host of other issues can cause us pain. One of the problems we encounter in these times as Christians is the thought that we should suppress our feelings of concern because that might be seen as “a lack of faith.” We feel the pressure, either from ourselves or outside influences, to smile through our pain because “God is with us.” Yes, God is INDEED with us – always. We have this promise in Hebrews 13:5-6: “He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”
On the other hand, that Scripture in Ecclesiastes also says that there is “a time to laugh.” Another problem that we sometimes face as Christians is the feeling of unworthiness when blessings come our way. God blesses us abundantly, but yet we convince ourselves that we don’t deserve those blessings. “I’m not good enough” thoughts fill our minds as we hit the rewind button to replay all of our sins, mistakes, and shortcomings. We recall the words in Nehemiah 8:10 that “The joy of the Lord is our strength” but yet we somehow convince ourselves that doesn’t apply to us, and we feel that we don’t deserve to laugh and express the very joy that God graciously pours out upon us.
As I thought about this Scripture last night, I thought of how often we try to ignore our seasons. In our seasons of weeping, we put on a fake smile and attempt to convince ourselves and everyone around us that “all is well.” In our seasons of laughter, we allow feelings of unworthiness or thoughts of “this won’t last” to rob us of the joy that God wants to pour out upon us. With that in mind, this is my encouragement to you as a child of God today:
If you are in a season of weeping right now, WEEP. God does not see your tears as a lack of faith. On the contrary, you can know that those tears have been seen by your Father, and you can claim the promise of Psalms 34:18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Likewise, if you are in a season of laughter, LAUGH! Turn off the tape recorder of past failures and forget the feelings of “I don’t deserve this!” and allow the joy of the Lord to indeed be your strength. Recognize that Psalms 126:2 can be your reality: “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them.”
Finally, always remember that seasons change. For however many more days God gives each of us on this earth, there are going to be “seasons” of weeping and “seasons” of laughter. Things change, and that will never stop. Life will always include both grievous challenges and unspeakable blessings. The one constant in all of it is that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you won’t go through ANY of it alone. Whether your current tears are tears of sorrow or tears of laughter, the words of Jesus are your promise today:
“Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
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