Sadness joins us on the journey.  Some things in life we simply cannot understand.  Circumstances that surround us sometimes make us weep.  Tears slide down our cheeks. Varying seasons of life invite us to live with sadness. This is not easy, but it is okay. Our humanity is invited to express and live with sadness.

Solomon said that “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad” (Ecclesiastes 7:3).  Paraphrased, we read, “Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart”.  Perhaps we all know what it feels like to have that face that is blotchy.  We don’t’ like it and seek to cover it up. Yet, as tears fall, something significant is given to our lives. 

This is not to say there is not a place for laughter.  How good laughter is to our souls. It too is God’s gift. We would choose laughter over sadness and yet sadness, says the Bible, is a invaluable gift. Sadness offers us what laughter cannot. Someone has said that “The loudest laughter cannot laugh forever”.

In our sadness we are invited to make discoveries about ourselves, our relationships, our world, and our God. Sadness stretches our heart and mind to see life from a different perspective. When our sadness is brought into the company of the living God, Jesus Christ, our tears become a place where we discover his love and grace, for he is “close to the broken-hearted” (Psalm 34:18).  David said, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?” (Psalm 56:8).

In considering sadness, tears, and God’s presence of grace, I was encouraged with what I read the other day, written by H. Wheeler Robinson in his book, The Cross in the Old Testament.

“In the face of the brave sufferer the tears of agony are yet undried; but, as the light of God falls on that face, every tear builds its own rainbow of hope, God’s mercy-sign.  Hidden in the brightness of that light, God weeps himself; in all our afflictions He is afflicted.”

This song asks whether our tears are noticed and whether God cares. We are reminded today that yes, he does, for love could never leave us alone.  May we allow the living Lord Jesus to join us in our sadness today as we sing/say these words. Perhaps share this truth with one who carries sadness today.

533: Does Jesus Care When My Heart Is Pained

1. Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress
And the way grows weary and long?

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

2. Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

3. Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

4. Does Jesus care when I've said, “Goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Caring Saviour, you sit with us in our sadness. You are present when our tears fall.  Not one tear escapes your glance. Teach us to not resist our tears, but rather welcome you into them, for sadness is not without purpose when held in the confines of your grace. Today, we come with our sadness and the sadness of our friends and neighbours.  Dry tears with a wipe of your love-filled hand. AMEN

With care and in prayer,