Jeremiah 31:11-14 "For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord—the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord."
While listening to the birds chirping outside, the title of today's writing fluttered through my mind. When I went to write it though, one little letter popped in there. The letter 'u'. I thought, 'oh boy, Lord, You're gonna have to help me with this one'.
Ecclesiastes says that there is a time to mourn and a time to dance (v.3-4).
When someone we love passes away (whether human or animal), there is a proper period of mourning, of grieving the loss. Sometimes we can even mourn over or grieve events or periods of time in our lives that we can't get back. A childhood or adult years where there was much trauma left unhealed, the loss of a job or a house or some other possession that we put a lot of time and resources into or maybe a friend who has gone astray and we miss their friendship. A beloved pet passes away in the night or is in so much pain that we have to take them to the veterinarian to be 'put down' (which can also cause guilt even though it was the 'right' thing to do).
We can even mourn 'good' losses. Ending a professional relationship with a therapist, or a Pastor who really been there for us to listen to advise, to help be the Lord 'in body' to groom us into the person we are today. Now, they may be still there physically, but not really a part of our lives (at least for a while - as the Lord may bring them back into our lives in the future as we are healed and become healers ourselves - with the healing that God has given us).
The joy that can be found in or through our mourning is in the fact that The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit - Psalm 34:18. Joy is also in the knowing in our spirits that it's natural to mourn a loss. In the Lord's Presence (and also maybe with a close friend), it's okay to cry, to yell, to question, to allow our pain to surface - in fact, it must surface in order for the Lord to heal it.
It's the transition between mourning and joy that we will discuss tomorrow.
By the way, I do welcome discussion :) There's a box at the bottom where you can put your comments - and you don't have to be signed up, just do it anonymously - including your first name and where you're from if you want.
Comfort Me - Brenton Brown
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