Being Happy in an Unhappy WorldSample

Can happiness and mourning really go together? At first glance it seems to be an oxymoron. How flatly it flies in the face of today’s hedonistic worldview! How can crying and joy go together?

When we weep, we’re in good company. When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. When Jesus knelt on the Mount of Olives and looked out over the city of Jerusalem, He wept. When Paul left the town of Ephesus, he and the elders wept with sorrow at their parting. John wept on the isle of Patmos because no one was found worthy to open the scroll that would reveal God’s plans.

- The God of all comfort promises to comfort us (Matthew 5:4).

- The God Who comforted Abraham as he walked toward Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his beloved Isaac — that God will comfort us!

- The God Who comforted Paul on the raging sea moments before he was shipwrecked — that God will comfort us!

- The God Who comforted the fathers of the church as they were being burned alive by their persecutors — that God will comfort us!

In eternity, every tear will be wiped from our eyes. Even now, in the dark of night when our hearts are breaking, He sits beside us. When we’ve been abandoned by our dearest friend on earth and feel so utterly alone, He picks us up in His massive arms and holds us close until the storm passes.

Shout it from the housetops to the unhappy legions of earth: “We shall be comforted!” Who says so? The God of all comfort says so.

Grief is healthy. A tear in the eye tells of at least one spring in the soul. It may lie buried beneath emotional scars, but that one tear trickling down our cheek cries out, “I’m alive!”

Paul speaks of people who have “lost all sensitivity” (Ephesians 4:19, NIV). They are past feeling. Their conscience no longer stings when they break the law of God. It’s a dangerous position to be in.

Our conscience is supposed to hurt when we sin. It’s how God alerts us to the need for repentance.

What about you? When you sin, does your conscience trouble you? Then be glad! Happy are those who mourn over wrongdoing, for they are truly alive.