Sorrow Is Better Than Laughter

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying the book of Ecclesiastes together, which centers on the truth that life apart from Christ is empty and vain. In its pages, we discover how to view our lives with an eternal perspective, enabling us to press into the Lord regardless of our circumstances. In this series, we seek to explore the wise principles presented to us by “the Teacher” in order to better understand what it looks like to walk in the fear and joy of the Lord even in the midst of our grief.

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“Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.”
Ecclesiastes 7:3

READ:

The world tells us that laughter is the best medicine. But this worldly point of view is incomplete according to what God teaches us through His Word. While a joyful heart is indeed good medicine (Proverbs 17:22), Ecclesiastes 7:3 also teaches us that, “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.”

Many believe it was King Solomon who penned this book after earnestly praying for godly wisdom. Many of Solomon’s teachings, found in Ecclesiastes, turn worldly thinking on its head. How is sorrow better than happiness, and how are we to be made glad when we are sorrowful? 

Times of laughter, while pleasant, fun, and necessary, are fleeting. They provide moments of relief for our minds in a broken world. But our souls crave more than instant gratification. That is how the Creator designed us to be. King Solomon had everything the world says will bring happiness, and yet he was still left longing. God created us to desire a deep relationship with Him that is usually not as acutely developed in the mountaintop periods of life. God knew that in the times when everything is going well for us, our human tendency would be to take our focus off of Him. 

Periods of sorrow allow something more beautiful and sustaining to occur. It is in these times of grief that we find ourselves emptied out and searching for what will fill the void in our aching souls, a void that only the Creator, Himself, can fill. God allows the periods of sorrow into our lives to change our focus and draw us closer to Him so that our faith can grow. When our faith grows, our hearts will surely be made glad.

REFLECT:

1. In what ways have you found blessing in the sorrow?
2. How can you allow God to change your heart in the midst of sorrow?

JOURNAL:

Take time to write down the ways you have seen God work through your loss. How has sorrow deepened your faith and grown your relationship with Him? 

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Megan Kelley is married to Jake and the mother to seven babies. Her first child she lost to miscarriage in September of 2009. She then had two children, Hunter (7) and Preston (5). After Preston, she lost her next two to miscarriage in March and August of 2014. A month later, she found out she was pregnant with her son, Thatcher, who was diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome. He went to his heavenly home shortly after he was born on April 17, 2015. She was blessed with her latest addition, Abigail Quinn in July of 2017. She loves painting, gardening, cooking, reading, and playing with her kids at the park.

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