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September 26th, 2011

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Mourning Into Dancing

By Winn Collier

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"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever."
 Psalm 30:11-12 TNIV

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SCRIPTURE TELLS US there is “a time to weep” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Our world is in miserable shape, and when we confront all its ugliness, sadness is a good response. We should experience these things. It’s right.

However, tears do not always indicate authenticity. Sometimes, my mourning, my melancholy spirituality, is a way of hiding. If I allow myself to believe that sadness and disappointment and weeping is all there is, then I am no longer compelled to hope. And if I do not hope, then I will never be disappointed. But here is the rub: Without hope, there is no faith (Hebrews 11:1).

So, sorrow has its place in a rooted, human spirituality; but it should never consume all the space. It should never identify us. It is Jesus who defines who we are. And Jesus is about resurrection and renewal, about making dead things come to life. To live in the way of Jesus is to live in the way of faith and hope and love.

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Think of the crises and sorrows in our world and in your personal life. What is the hopeful response to these issues?

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This devotion is adapted from an article in the July/August 2007 issue of RELEVANT magazine. Get your own copy.

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