CELEBRATE AND MOURN

“Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.” – Romans 12:15.

God created us as complex creatures, capable of feeling and sensing a whole garden of emotions. Made in the image of our Creator, we can both grieve the wrongs of this world and celebrate the sweetness of this life.

Joy and sorrow often travel together as a pair. We can’t have one without the other. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, which could happen the same day.

 In Ecclesiastes 3:4, we are told there’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance. In Romans 12:15, we are told to celebrate with those who are celebrating and to weep with those who are grieving. The tension is there—wondering when to celebrate and when to cry.

It becomes difficult when we are the ones grieving and the people around us are all doing a happy dance because things are going so well. It is hard to muster up the ability to celebrate with others when you yourself may be going through a sorrowful time. The flip side applies as well. Maybe we are the ones doing the happy dance, and those around us are struggling with grief. It doesn’t seem possible to truly rejoice to the full extent when sorrow lurks around the corner.

The question becomes how do we do both because we are called to celebrate with others when they are celebrating and to mourn with others when they are mourning. We can do both with God’s help. It starts with prayer. 

We need to pray, asking the Lord to fill our hearts with His compassion for others. Compassion is the ability to sympathize with others. God will help you see and feel things more than you have before. God wants us to know how and when to sympathize with others so we can mourn when they need us to. But we also want to pray and ask God to joyfully fill our hearts and minds. 

God is the inventor of joy, delight, laughter, goodness, and celebration. When we have the joy of the Lord, we can rejoice with others even when we may be experiencing something difficult. His joy gives us strength to get through each day, even when grieving. Jesus is both joyful and full of compassion. When we pray for more compassion and joy, He is happy to fill us up and open our eyes.

Someone needs you to celebrate with them today. Someone else needs you to weep with them today. Today, let us choose to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and to mourn with those who are grieving.  

  Discussion Questions:

1. Is it possible to rejoice and mourn at the same time? 
2. How do we get better at celebrating with those who are celebrating and mourning with those who mourn?