“In Those Times”

Esther 4: 46: “And she (Esther) sent garments to clothe Mordecai that he might remove his sackcloth from him, but he did not accept them.” Sometimes it is good, proper, and God’s will for us to be sad. Solomon said that there is “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3: 4), and St. James advises us to “be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned unto mourning, and your joy to gloom.” (James 4: 9) It’s not a popular teaching, but in times of confrontation with God, man, or the mortality of the human race, a bright, bubbly positivism is not always the proper approach. Faith knows how to stand back and grieve in those times.