Daily Bible Reading Plans to help you read and understand God’s Word

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, Matthew 5:4, John 16:33, John 16:20, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Psalm 30:1-12

When I was fourteen years old, I tried out for our school production of West Side Story, even though I’d never heard of the musical, and furthermore, hadn’t spent much time on stage. To my surprise and delight, I was cast as the only female member of the Jets, a part with a good amount of stage time and even a handful of lines! My sister, a devoted member of the Thespian Society with hopes of being cast as Anita or Maria, found her name on the cast list under “Chorus.” 

We both ran to tell our mom (who conveniently worked on campus) our surprising news. Just missing each other in the hallway, I arrived first to share my delight, and my sister soon followed to express her devastation. To this day my mom talks about the unique experience of jumping for joy with one daughter while wiping the tears of the other. 

Joy and sorrow sometimes take turns, but often they awkwardly elbow each other out for the same heart and head space. These emotions are occasionally fleeting, but other times they can come in full, lasting seasons of grief or celebration. So how do we steward the tension of the two, both in our own lives and in the lives of those we love? The writer of Ecclesiastes wrestled with this very reality, concluding: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven...a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).

We are complex human beings in a complicated world, and in this world we will have occasion to both mourn and dance—sometimes at the very same time. Friends, this invitation to search the scriptures for wisdom is one of my favorites, and it is one worth accepting. I’m so glad you’re here! Let’s learn from the psalmists, the patriarchs, the early Church letter writers, and from Jesus Himself how to weep well before the Lord and how to wipe our tears and raise our hands in praise. 

Until all things are made new, read on!

Written by Raechel Myers