Sunday Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 7:3
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made better.
Devotion:
I am sure that we have all heard it said that laughter is good for the soul and that it is even a cure for many ailments – so why then does God’s Word seemingly say the opposite. Taking God’s Word out of context is a dangerous thing that we do too many times as a society because we take a few words, a phrase or even a whole verse and we try to gain meaning from those few words. God has not intended that we base our lives on a few words at a time but rather on the whole Word of God; and that means taking the whole Word and applying it all and not just the parts that we like at the time.
The children of Israel found themselves in very deep water when they took what they wanted at the time and made themselves a god they could worship because they thought Moses was taking too long! If we take a few words and ignore the rest, then are we not doing much the same by telling God that we don’t have time for the rest of it! So let us look at the wider context that these words are said in. God is not giving us a blanket saying that we should all be mourning and sorrowful instead of being happy and having fun, what is being said here is that there is a time for mourning and a time for happiness. If we choose to take the laughter and joviality when it is time for mourning, then we are only fooling ourselves. But it is more than just that...
Yes, laughter and good times will lift up our souls and allow us to smile in the face of adversity; but sometimes we do need to take time and meditate on what is bearing down on our souls. Sometimes we need to take time out of our lives and just think about why we have these hard times, harsh things or concerns in our lives. If we do not take time to straighten those thoughts and feeling out then we are going to have them gnawing at our souls for a long time to come. We do need to sit down with God and allow Him to show us why we are where we are. Just maybe we are not listening the way we should be. Just maybe we are ignoring something He is trying to tell us. Just maybe He wants us to change just that little bit to line up with what He has in mind for us.
God is the one who does know what is in store for us. He is the one that does know what is best for us. He is the one that does know our futures, so we do need to give Him time to allow us to see the other side of life at times – and sometimes it is hard to sit and listen when we know we are not going to like it at first...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you sit and listen to bad news?
Are you really giving God control by ignoring the stuff you don’t like?