A Time for Sadness and a Time for Happiness
“Be happy with those who are happy and be sad with those who are sad.” – Romans 12:15
At times, we do not want to see people sad or happy. It can bother us. When people are sad, we tend to view it in a negative way. For me, I notice that when people are sad it brings others down and I feel sad, too. Because of our sinful nature, we do not want people to be sad or happy. It is mostly due to the fact that our sinful hearts are evil and think, “They should not be sad because others have it worse”. When someone is happy about something, it makes us feel jealous because they are “too” happy and makes us feel bad about our life and what we may be going through.
The Bible says there is a time in life when everyone will experience both of these feelings (Ecclesiastes 3:4). When others around us feel sad or happy we are supposed to be happy or sad with them. It shows that we truly care and love them. We know how much Jesus showed empathy to people. He felt sorry for people who were sick and healed many of them (Matthew 14:14). We are supposed to show the same compassion by following His ways. We do not have the power to heal the sick, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be sad and happy with those who are (Romans 8:26).
Showing compassion and love during times of sadness can be done through little things like prayer, by listening and saying nothing or with a hug. When Job suffered, what helped him the most was his friends sitting around him and saying nothing (Job 2:11-13). We should never tell someone “to get over the pain”, but to show them we care about them through our godly actions. However, when another Christian is happy over something, we should share in their happiness by celebrating in their joy. When we do, it is a way for us to reflect God's empathy too.
Prayer of the day:
Dear heavenly Father,
In life, people will experience being happy and sad. When others feel sad or happy, please help us to know what to do in their situations. We are sinners and need Your help to do it. Thank you for allowing us to help people who are sad and happy so we can reflect Your empathy. You have a lot of it, and we pray that we will receive the same from the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
