A Time To Dance
“A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” - Ecclesiastes 3:4
As we continue to look at finding the “good” in moments of grief, we must look at what Abraham did after the death of his wife and lifelong partner, Sarah. After he mourned, Abraham found a way to move on.
Yes, he missed her. Yes, he mourned over her passing, and yes, he remembered all the moments and the memories that they shared together. But we can be encouraged by the fact that he was able to pick himself up and move on. The text says that after mourning and weeping in Genesis 23:2, Abraham “rose up.”
This should encourage you today! Yes, he was down, but he didn’t stay down. He didn’t let the sadness of the moment and the gravity of the situation keep him in a place and a posture where he couldn’t do anything else. We must mourn, and that is a good thing. We must grieve. We have to do that, but grief becomes good when we are able to find strength and find the power to rise up, just as Abraham did.
After we mourn, we move on. Abraham shows us this as he processes the reality that people come and people go. He accepts the fact that loved ones and spouses come and go. But then he realizes that a time comes when the mourning and weeping must give way to rise above the pain.
Solomon highlights this in Ecclesiastes 3:4 when he says there is, “A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” In other words, grief is not a dead end. It is not a cul de sac of emotions. Instead, it should be a pathway to something better.
As Psalm 30:5 says, “Joy comes in the morning.” Yes, there is a time for grief, but then there is a time to dance. My friend, grieve when it is time to grieve, but then be ready to dance when it is time to dance!
As we continue to look at finding the “good” in moments of grief, we must look at what Abraham did after the death of his wife and lifelong partner, Sarah. After he mourned, Abraham found a way to move on.
Yes, he missed her. Yes, he mourned over her passing, and yes, he remembered all the moments and the memories that they shared together. But we can be encouraged by the fact that he was able to pick himself up and move on. The text says that after mourning and weeping in Genesis 23:2, Abraham “rose up.”
This should encourage you today! Yes, he was down, but he didn’t stay down. He didn’t let the sadness of the moment and the gravity of the situation keep him in a place and a posture where he couldn’t do anything else. We must mourn, and that is a good thing. We must grieve. We have to do that, but grief becomes good when we are able to find strength and find the power to rise up, just as Abraham did.
After we mourn, we move on. Abraham shows us this as he processes the reality that people come and people go. He accepts the fact that loved ones and spouses come and go. But then he realizes that a time comes when the mourning and weeping must give way to rise above the pain.
Solomon highlights this in Ecclesiastes 3:4 when he says there is, “A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” In other words, grief is not a dead end. It is not a cul de sac of emotions. Instead, it should be a pathway to something better.
As Psalm 30:5 says, “Joy comes in the morning.” Yes, there is a time for grief, but then there is a time to dance. My friend, grieve when it is time to grieve, but then be ready to dance when it is time to dance!
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