Sadness

"My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'... Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?" Psalm 42:3,5

I just had a meaningful conversation with a friend who had a family member pass away recently. He was honest with me, saying he was capable of mood swings as he felt anger and deep sadness and contentment all within a period of minutes. I think he just needed someone to tell him that it was okay to feel sadness, and it was okay to be angry.

God is perfectly capable of handling our emotions after all. In fact, it seems that due to the Psalmist's language, God actually welcomes our honest frustrations and yearnings. Locating our deep sadness in Him is much more satisfying than any elixir we conjur for ourselves: drink, tv, or sex.

Perhaps a big myth, often perpetuated by Christians (which is why much of the world labels us "hypocrites"), is that Christians are consistently happy and perfect in every way. Of course, quite the opposite is the reality. Our worldview is really the only one where the answer to the human problem (ie sin/brokenness/corruption of our hearts) is accomplished by God alone and not by mere human effort. When someone, especially a non-Christian, remarks to me that Christians are imperfect and hypocritical, I respond, "Well, that's kind of the point. That's why we need God."

And I think, by extension, this applies to our sadness. Christians can be sad, even depressed. Read Psalm 42: that guy struggled. Or 1 Kings 19: Elijah seemed quite depressed there as well.

The beauty of Christianity is that we lay all of our brokenness and deep sorrow on Christ at the cross, for he redeems it all. And one day, one fateful day, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.