The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” 

—Ecclesiastes 3:4

Our world would have us believe we should never have to weep and never have to mourn—that our supreme goal is happiness and fun, and that we should be exempt from sadness and pain.

But this is a recipe for disillusionment and denial. We will all face pain and sorrow in this life. 

Our efforts to ignore, bury, or run from it will not change that. 

When it’s time to weep, don’t be afraid to weep. When it’s time to mourn, don’t be afraid to mourn. We don’t have to hide or ignore it. We don’t have to act like we enjoy our suffering. The Lord never says to pretend everything is fine. 

He says, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

We can have courage even while we weep and mourn, because we know the overcoming is already accomplished. 

But we should also not be afraid to laugh and dance. Christianity is not meant to keep us from enjoying the good things the Lord has given us in this life. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and solemnity is not a mark of righteousness.

If we’re in a time of weeping and mourning, we don’t have to lose hope. And if we’re in a time of laughing and dancing, it shouldn’t become the source of our hope.

The seasons of this life will always shift unsteadily, but we have a God who never changes, cannot lie, and who has promised the life to come is free from weeping, pain, and sorrow. All of heaven will be a time for joy.

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