KNOW WHEN TO WEEP OR REJOICE
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
One of the greatest gifts we can give to anyone is the gift of PRESENCE. When someone is hurting, we often think we need to have the right words to encourage them. In those moments we can tend to use cliches that often do more damage than help.
As pastors Cindy and I have had calls that are heart breaking. I remember the day I was called to the hospital for a young couple in our church that just had a baby born with only a couple hours to live. There were no words for that moment. Cindy and I sat and cried with the family. Our presence was what they needed. They didn’t need us to tell them it was going to be okay. They didn’t need to hear “God had another plan.” They didn’t need cliches or advice. They needed someone to grieve with them.
My advice is to limit words in times of someone’s grief. There are no magic words. They won’t remember them anyway. There will be a time for conversation—but the first step is to just weep.
Sometimes in the body of Christ we are better at weeping than we are at rejoicing. When someone else gets a promotion, new job, wins an award, or has something to celebrate it is easy to get jealous rather than joyful. Paul tells us to be happy with those who are happy.
As I pastor, I have had days where I wept with one family and rejoiced with another. I’ve been in the same hospital weeping with a family over the loss of a loved one and then walked to a different part of the hospital to rejoice with a newborn baby. I can’t bring my weeping to the family with the new baby. They need someone to rejoice with them.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives helps us to know what to do at what moment. He can help us to be quiet when we need to be quiet and what to say when we need to speak. We must rely on the presence of God’s Spirit in us so that we can be His presence to our world.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to learn when to be happy and when to weep. Help me to depend on You for wisdom. Help me to be present with those You put into my life.
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