“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven….a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” -Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 4
You may be persuaded that grown men shouldn’t cry, but as you look through the pages of the Bible, you see again and again that men of God were not afraid to make themselves vulnerable by showing their emotions. From Jacob and Esau weeping as they embraced, to King David publicly lamenting his son Absalom, Bible men often wept.
And they just as frequently laughed and enjoyed humorous situations. They even had a proverb: “A feast is made for laughter” (Ecc. 10:19 KJV), so you can be sure that they looked forward to times when they could cut loose and laugh heartily.
Whether you laugh and cry in public or hold your emotions within, the literal meaning of these passages from Ecclesiastes 3 is that during the course of your life, you can expect seasons of both sorrow and joy; times that would be enough to make a grown man (or woman) cry, as well as others that cause him to burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Thank God for the happy times. Enjoy them to the full. Know that you will also experience times of sorrow—but remember that you won’t have to walk them alone.
Have a blessed February,
Pastor John