Take this day as an opportunity to catch up on your reading, pray, and rest in the presence of the Lord.
Focusing on the first part of verse 4, ask the Holy Spirit for the freedom to weep and to laugh in every season of your life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4:
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
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68 thoughts on "Grace Day"
In the uncertainty of my life right now. I can rest on the truth that, while life has many seasons and facets. God, nor his love for us never changes!
My pastor’s son and daughter-in-law whom i am very close to just lost their first child at four days old. i was there with them when it happened. i am 18 and have never been that close to death before. i have never been this heartbroken. seeing a family i love in so much pain is excruciating. but i have never been closer to the Lord. i am learning that even in the midst of this storm in my life, i can worship the Lord with everything i am, for he is the one who sustains me in all this. i am learning that it is okay to laugh and have my good days, and it is also okay to break down and have my bad days. this is all part of the journey to healing. i may never be fully healed from this wound, but i have a hope that one day, i will get to meet little Abel for the first time in heaven. thankful for this study and the opportunity to grow closer to Christ.
Even in this moment of rest through the holidays, my anxiety about returning to daily life is overwhelming. This scripture brought me so much comfort in knowing that right now, is my time of laughter, dancing, and spiritual fulfillment so that I can have the encouraging words of the Lord and my family to make it through the more challenging times. I pray that I find bravery this year in the times that scare me or make me weary and that I am able to fully indulge myself in the moments of joy. You are so good to me Lord for providing a community full of joy and laughter when I needed it most.
Amen
Thanks be to God because we have Jesus Christ who understands all of our struggles. He knows how to succor his people because he went through it all in Gethsemane.
Kathy, this was amazing. Especially: “Here’s the thing though. I don’t want to run past the terrible. I don’t want to miss what incredible things I can learn by going through the terrible. I want to allow the terrible to grow me and make me more like Jesus.” The terrible brings us closer to Jesus! Thank you!
In one of the devotions on He Reads Truth, John Blase shared a quote by Frederick Buechner. He said, “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” This has resonated throughout my entire being. Terrible things have happened in my life and the lives of people I love over the last year – more death and sickness than anyone wants to see. It would be so easy to just camp in the terrible. But after reading this quote I made a list of all the beautiful things that have happened – new grandbaby on the way in March, new additions to our family through marriage, new friends, notes of affirmation from students, hugs at just the right moment. I could go on and on.
Here’s the thing though. I don’t want to run past the terrible. I don’t want to miss what incredible things I can learn by going through the terrible. I want to allow the terrible to grow me and make me more like Jesus. But Lord, don’t let me live in the terrible. Help me to find and rest in the beautiful. Help me to be brave and not be afraid.
Thanks for sharing. I’m in the midst of the terrible and this is what I needed to hear.
This is really beautiful. Thank you
I have allowed myself to to start weeping. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a hard cry. Having been in a home where you’re told to stop your crying took a great effect on me. Oh… I’ve been able to cry but a good hard cry is hard to do now. Thankfully I’m on the road of healing and healing well. But to laugh, thankfully I’ve been able to do that and laugh hard and good and have a good time and be thankful. When my daughter starts to weep and cry hard I sit and listen to her. I’m thankful she’s been able to do that now. I’m ashamed to say that during our unhealthy environment I would tell her not to cry. Since then I’ve asked her to forgive me. So I sit and listen to her even when I don’t have the right words. I just listen. And thankfully we both been able to laugh together and laugh hard. There’s still lot of healing that needs to take place in her, but I’m glad she’s been able to laugh. As for my son. He surprised us on Wednesday night and showed up one week early for the Thanksgiving break. He is also on the road of healing. He is doing well. I am blessed to have two wonderful children. I am blessed to have a son and male role model speaking into his sisters life.
Our present life focus is not of our choosing and I mourn the fact that we are restricted in our travel and comings and goings, but I rejoice that we are exactly where God has planned for us to be.
Praying for you Melissa
“There is a time…”. It has a beginning and it has an end. I’m grateful for this reality because God is in control of them both. And He loves me.
2017 has been a rocky road. I lost two grandparents, a cousin, had a health scare with my daughter and had a miscarriage all within a few months of each other. I know God is still in control and has a reason for his timing but some days its hard to hold on. Praying for his presence and direction like never before.
Praying for you Chelsea. I know how those days feel when it’s a struggle. I always look for His presence specifically during those days. It always shows up :) Hope this encourages you today
We are trying to uproot our lives and move to the city for bible college. We had a beautiful apartment lined up for a great prize.. everything was perfect.. but then they refused to fix the carpets that were soaked in cat pee. :( we are so confused cuz we felt like God said this was the apartment. I know all things will be made beautiful in his time.. but now we have a week to find a place cuz it fell through and the other places cost about the same but aren’t nearly as nice. Needing prayer for trust, favor and faith. And to stop crying. I’m bummed.
I’m currently going through my season of mourning and grieving. I feel like today I’m struggling to focus on anything positive and have been crying on and off. Praying.
I’m currently going through a breakup. I often get mad at myself for crying out of the blue about it, but like this verse says, “there is a time to mourn, there is a time to cry”. It’s part of the process. So if any of you girls feel this way, just know it’s okay to cry and be sad. God is working while we wait and he will bring good out of the hard times in our lives. Praying for you all & the circumstances you are facing. I have been so encouraged by reading your comments. God is good, all the time.
I know you wrote this two years ago. But if you ever see this, I am walking this road now and your post encourages me
Needing prayers, I’m the process of a really tough breakup…I had believed I was to marry this man, and now he is gone. It’s been almost a year and my heart is still shattered. I’m just really hurting.
Oh, sweet Hannah. Praying for you, friend. Breakups are never easy. Asking the Lord to heal your hurting heart and to draw you near to Him in this time of pain and confusion.
– Stormye
Hannah, I am experiencing the same thing. Praying that we both cling to God during this hard time. He will never leave us. There is purpose in this and God will make this hard time beautiful. Praying that He would give you wisdom and comfort. Isaiah 41:10
Ladies, please send prayers my way. I’m in a time of transition between friendships and I am hurting
Absolutely praying for you, sweet friend. Asking the Lord to hold you close and bring you comfort through His Word.
– Stormye
I feel like I have lost my best friend, and in doing so have lost myself. Truth should be so much simpler. I have a deeper love, and ache for richness and knowledge of love because of this friendship…but there is also SO much hurt. I don’t understand where I went wrong. Deception is tricky. I don’t know what parts of our friendship were good and God-honoring, and which parts were fed by the enemy’s lies. I don’t know how to recover.
If you haven’t already read it, “Uninvited” by Lysa Terkeurst is a great read. She does a fantastic job of encouraging people through struggles just like yours.
I’m mourning the end of a 3 year relationship. It hurts like hell.
I know the lord has his hand all over this but it’s hard. It’s hard that God isn’t tangible and he can’t just reach down and hold me in my mourning.
He is listening and he is holding you tight!
It may not seem like it now, but He loves you! We love you too, and we’ll keep praying!
I feel so blessed to be in a time of laughter and dancing, because my family and savior have delivered me from a time of weeping and sorrow. I am so grateful for them!
I’m in a time questioning all of my decisions. Was God showing me all along through so many things that I was going down the wrong path?
Did I not listen and now this suffering is what I get because of my decisions?
The mourning right now seems so much stronger than the joy and laughter I’m trying so desperately to find and experience.
Praying for you and peace in Him!
Bobbi- there is grief but when your heart and mind feel different, prepare your knowledge and hold tight to it…even when you feel tempted to go down a path you know is wrong, get off of it. The right path is in front of you. And that is following and loving Jesus. He will lead you in that. ❤️
I’m experiencing some heartache , I sometimes wake up and question God like why is this happening to me , it feels like I’ll never get a break . I just sit and Bed and cry sometimes because life has broken my heart over and over and I don’t know if it will evert in . I pray for healing and happiness in my life from this day coward. I want to be drowning in Gods love so happy that nothing can move me . This is what I pray for today
*foward
Praying for you!
Praying!
So much pain and sorrow in life right now. I need healing in my heart, my head and in my family! Need to be healthy and happy in God’s love.
I am loving this study because I tend to bottle everything up. My father died three years ago; he was my best friend and when he got sick– his caregiver. While I cried many tears when he died, I never really allowed myself to deal with the grief that sometimes chokes me yet somehow I manage to put aside. This study is gently nudging me to be gentler to myself because in order to put my grief aside, I’ve had to be stern with my inner self (if that makes sense). So a very timely study indeed.
The current season I’m has been full of hurt, rejection, depression, and confusion. But I have also found so much joy lately despite the pain. God is using this time to bring me closer to Him in a way I’ve never experienced and I am learning to trust Him more than ever. This has surely been a season of weeping and of laughter – God’s timing is perfect :)
I completely understand your position, because I have been there recently as well! “In my deepest pain, I saw your grace and it astounded me!”
I’ve found this study quiet timely. My sister and her family are moving overseas on Tuesday and I have shed many tears. It’s been so helpful having the reminder that in my garden of emotions it’s okay to be growing more than one thing at a time. Sadness at the thought of not physically being near my sister is growing alongside the excitement of being able to visit them. There is a time for everything – a time for people to be near and people to be far away.
Almost two years ago, I lost someone who was like a second father to me. It still hurts when memories pop up (on time hop and in real life:)). It’s amazing though to see the way he is remembered and the legacy that lives on. His life inspired so many, and it encourages me to do the same. Thankful that even in mourning, there is so much to dance about.
Today marks the 6 month anniversary of my friend Anna’s death. It is the first person I have known on a personal level who passed away, and it was under tragic circumstances. I knew her briefly, but the time we spent together was like getting to know a kindred spirit. I pray for her soul and lean on faith when I even begin to try to make sense of any of this.
So odd how God’s timing is always perfect! I once read a book by one of my favorite authors and her quote for this is “a God thing”, I hold those words dearly! This devotion has been one that I have personally needed, but more so today than I even thought. I got a call this morning from my mother stating that her brother (my uncle) took his life this morning. My first thoughts were anger and are still slightly just that. But then I step out on my faith and believe that God is going to use just this to bring glory to Himself. The selfish human I am, I do not understand why this had to happen and I don’t know that the rest of my earthly existence if I ever will. Mourning and dancing, today I mourn and that’s OK! God carries me through this time and I am praying that He carries the rest of my family going through this. Then I remember some of the greatest memories I have with my sweet Uncle, and in those memories I find myself dancing!
So…..Thank you ladies for your awesome leadership and teaching me about Mourning and Dancing!
Amanda, I am so sorry for your loss. Those close to us passing away is always hard in my opinion, but when suicide is involved it brings a whole different level of grief & hardness. Continue to focus on the Lord & lean on Him. Praying for you & your family.
God works in ways we simply can’t understand at times. I had been dating this man whom I thought was right with God and I truly thought we would be married once I graduated college. He had amazing qualities and was always willing to help anyone. Because I was so in love with him, I overlooked a lot of some warning signs God was showing me. I didn’t want to believe or even think that we wouldn’t spend forever together. I loved him with every fiber of my being, and if it weren’t for my effort, our relationship wouldn’t have been the way it was. This past weekend God revealed to me that he wasn’t being faithful. I wanted to forgive him and move on, but he found the first opportunity to break up with me. I can’t begin to explain the heartbreak I experienced. I got cheated on, lied to and then dumped..via text. I look back at our relationship and wonder how someone I loved could have ever turned out to be the opposite of what I thought. Through all of this though, God has been my ultimate comforter. God knew me too well and knew I would have stayed with this person and probably would’ve endured greater pain or suffering from loving someone more than I loved them. Through the pain, I am comforted that God is saving me for someone He has planned for me who will be more than I could ever imagine. I am trusting God with every aspect of this situation. Although it’s not easy now, joy comes in the morning. I have peace knowing I don’t need to try to understand the situation or figure it out, but that God has something greater in store. I have greater peace knowing He loves me enough to ensure my utmost happiness in the future. It’s an amazing feeling to know we are priceless and so cherished in God’s eyes and that we truly are His children.
Dear Haley,
This happened to me too and I was mad at God. But He knew so much more than me! If I had not had the experiences I had with this first man I would have never recognized my soulmate when He brought him into my life. God does know best! My husband and I have been together since 1974! And we celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary tomorrow!! God will get you through this and just wait until you meet the man He has planned for you!
Haley, it’s been about a year since you posted and I hope you are healing from all of this! What you described is exactly what I experienced in college and was dumped right before Spring Break of my senior year. It was literal agony for months and I still sometimes remember how badly the betrayal felt. It’s been 9 years now. I have a wonderful, faithful husband and 2 beautiful children. I pray that God brings you a man that will love you properly!
At times I feel guilty for any emotion other than happy. Not JOY but just generic, wordly “happy”. I love that our Heavenly Father tells us we can have a season for all emotions & created us to feel them all! Love this study!
Sometimes I feel like I need permission to even feel certain emotions, let alone express them. I grew up hiding how I truly felt about things and have buried both pain and joy for too long. Thankfully God isn’t done working on me yet! Through Holy Spirit’s help and prompting, God is helping me be more open with my emotions so I can truly know (feel/experience) mourning and dancing, weeping and laughing, sorrow and joy. Praise God for the work He is doing!
I am reading the book Fearless by Max Lucado and just finished a chapter that talks about how our lives have seasons and change. Change is a necessary part of Gods strategy. To use us to change the world he alters our assignments. Tragedy that he allows makes no sense in this life but will make much more sense when we have eternal prospective. He reminds us as Paul wrote, “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing” (2 Cor. 4:17 CEV).
Love this! Thank you!
Yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about this too! There’s richness to be had in our sorrow when we press in to Him. “Happy” has been my goal for so long. Releasing that to Him and trusting Him with joy and sorrow is so freeing and builds my faith in Him.
God shows up in awesome ways. Yesterday, after working out I went and sat in the steam room. It was only one other gentlemen and me. He started up a conversation. I was hot and not in the mood for small talk. Well, he started telling me his testimony in a round about way. I took out my headphones and started asking questions. He was going through a season in his life where he had hit rock bottom, alcoholic, and lost his family, including his two girls ages 5 and 7. I asked him how he overcame his “pit.” He told me that he had been taking his anger out on God, and blaming everything on him, he said he didn’t know God but just knew he was doing this to him. While he was working out one day he ran into a preacher in the steam room. One thing led to another and he went to his church and became a Christian. He has completely overcome addiction, been sober for a year, received a second chance from his family and is now leading his family as a Christian man. After this conversation and LOTS of heat exhaustion, I thought to myself, why did God want me to hear this? I feel as though it is an account of someone going through seasons, but also grieving and dancing. There are so many ways we grieve in our lifetime and Christ brought that to me to think of how I am grieving about some small issues but know I can overcome them with Jesus. Obedience and a heart to listen to His words. Just thought I would share this neat story.
Thanks for sharing.
A time and season for everything… My little family and I are about to embark on a new season. About 4 months ago we moved from FL to SC. first time I have moved away from my family. This week we have moved everything into our new house God has blessed us with. ontop of this my father-law do to health and financial reason will be moving in with us…. My husband and him but heads a lot. we have a 15m old daughter and are talking about number 2 soon. This is a very over whelming season. God is growing me even if I’m kicking and screaming half the time. I can already see fruit from it and also the tough challenges ahead, mourning and dancing.
Katie, I pray the time with your father-in-law will be rich with new growth. May your heart & mind be strengthened and full of His peace in all the changes. I pray you never regret your child’s deepened relationship with her grandpa. May your father-in-law’s heart be softened by the love of his granddaughter. May your daughter be a foundational start for a new relationship between two fathers. May your husband flourish in a reconciled relationship with his father, which would also grow & strengthen his spiritual leading in your family.
thank you!
I am removing myself from a chaotic relationship which God has given me so many warnings already. My Jesus is pulling me out of the mud because when you are scared to act or speak not to offend the person in the relationship in fear that it will cause friction or you if you have to stop bible study because he wants you to go to happy hour then it’s time to run….. Me the child of God who knows that God has me here for a purpose can not return to an abusive relationship with a man who drinks vodka with Gatorade (4-5 glasses) every day. I settled for the 54 yr man whom I met at the local supermarket because in a vulnerable time he was the first invite to dinner and I was curious about me opening my heart to someone other than the fit description off my dream man list. Now after 3 months of forcing the relationship I realized this is not who God wants for me. He is not the man of God he is not walking with God and he has no intention of marriage. So now that I am drawing the line, I will go back to giving all my time to my Christ my God almighty. Lord please forgive me for I have sin I cry at you feet and rest in your grace and mercy. Lord may your Holy Spirit engulf my soul and protect me from what is not of you. I speak life joy truth light freedom rest love and forgiveness. May God guide me in this day and that I may understand His Word for redirection and correction in my life. I ask this in your name my King, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Tamara, God has a perfect plan for you! I am praying that God will give you His peace and the strength to wait on His perfect will for you!
I agree with the other poster God has a plan for you! Follow him and you won’t go wrong.
Hold on to God’s hand and he will walk you through this.
I will pray for you during this time in your life. I rushed into relationships, married out of guilty feelings, divorced to escape the emotional roller coasters, and have ended up alone but not lonely. Peace with God is the underlying emotion that carries me through life’s seasons.
A time for everything. What a profound thought that our God has everything in order in the chaos we see around us these days.
Thank you for that reminder!