Our Faith

Joy through tragedy

by Ashley Bingham

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

Last week, I touched on a few ways to be happier in life, a few tips to be more joyful. I want to dig deeper on the idea of joy, inspired by the message delivered at my home church last Sunday.

The big question is: How are we supposed to feel joy in times or tragedy or times of trial?

This question can often stump us. Doesn’t God want us all to feel joy? Isn’t a life alongside Jesus supposed to bring us continual joy, no matter what?

Let’s go back to the opening verse.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

This verse can be hard for us to accept. In truth, there will be times when we weep, and times when we will mourn. But there will also be times when we will laugh, and times when we will dance.

Right now, America is experiencing extreme tragedy. Recovering from Harvey, and experiencing another, even more disastrous hurricane in Florida. On top of that, wildfires are popping up all over the West.

So what do we do during this time of tragedy?

We rejoice.

Philippians 4:4 reads, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

How can we rejoice during this time? With all this tragedy, how are we supposed to rejoice?

We tend to fade away from the topic of joy during hard times like this, but now is when we need to focus on it the most.

We also have to remember that without these hard times, and without these trials we go through, joy means nothing. We can’t experience joy with our also experiencing suffering. And so we are called to rejoice through our suffering.

During our tragedies, instead of feeling down constantly, we should instead try to recall the positives times, and look forward to the more joyful times in the future. That is how we are to experience joy through heartbreak. In fact, this is a crucial part of the healing process.

My most recent experience that I can recall of this is when my dog passed away suddenly a few months back. This was a tragic time, as he had been our family’s first dog. But instead of feeling completely down and throwing away our joyful time with him, we remembered those happy times when he had been alive. We laughed, and still do, at the silly memories of him. We remember the joyful experiences. We rejoice in the time we had with him.

This can be applied to any situation. Whether is be through the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or even the damaged caused by natural disaster. We are called by God to rejoice through our suffering and through our time of mourning.

No, joy does not fill every second of our lives, but if we carry the joy found in God with us throughout our lives, then that’s how we can rejoice through the lows in life.

I encourage you to reflect while listening to Hills and Valleys by Tauren Wells, and focus on how you will rejoice in the hard times you may encounter in your life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would like to support those who are recovering from natural disaster, click this link to donate to UMCOR. 100% of your donation will go to help those who have suffered through a recent natural disaster. If you cannot donate, prayers are just as helpful. I am praying for the safety of those struggling, and am praying also for those recovering. God bless you all.

5 thoughts on “Joy through tragedy”

Leave a comment