O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I [Jesus] have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate.
-Matthew 23:37-38
[Jesus] was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
-Isaiah 53:3
I suppose my sadness, though minuscule by comparison to Jesus’, is godly. But is that really as good as it gets for a child of God? I mean, shall we all just lay down at the feet of sin and concede defeat? Did God create us in His own image only to wallow in the misery reserved for those who reject Him? I think not. We are conquerors, after all.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-Romans 8:35-39
While it is understandable that I possess a certain sadness because there's so much suffering in the world due to sin, might it be acceptable to ask what right do I have to not be happy? Is it possible to live a life where sadness doesn’t dominate my days? I believe that if Jesus were here right now, He’d say, “Of course!” Shall I expect every day to be dimples and daisies, Lord? “No.” I’m not the first nor will I be the last to suffer this way.
Having a heart for others shouldn’t annihilate my own heart’s right to joy. After all, there is a lot of good in this world that my Father in Heaven wants me to absorb, too.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
-Hebrews 12:1-2
My deliverance is a function of my perspective. It’s also a function of my expectations, for if I expect to wake up and sin to be gone, I’m delusional. Sin is here to stay, but here’s my relief, so is God’s love. In fact, I am promised God’s love forevermore. This is my secret weapon against my own sadness. When I’m down, may the Holy Spirit bring to mind, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6).
I am happy, no matter what, because my Father in Heaven loves me always.
So, the next time I find myself asking, “What right do I have to be happy when there’s so much suffering in this world?”, may I turn the tables on sin itself and ask, “What right do I have to not be happy?”
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
-Philippians 4:4
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
-John 16:22
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
