Day 16: Mourning

James 4:9-10 (NIV) Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

The Christian life is full of paradoxes, and one of the most striking is presented in these verses. While the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), we are also instructed to “grieve, mourn and wail.” Why does God admonish us both to rejoice and to mourn? How are these related?

James tells us that this mourning is a response to our sinfulness before a holy God. We cannot gloss over the fact that we are guilty before the Judge and worthy of judgment. More importantly, we have hurt the heart of our Father and we need to grieve over the pain we have caused Him.

This leads to a genuine sense of humility—recognizing who we really are in the light of who God is. We are sinners desperately in need of His saving power. When we humbly acknowledge this and our deep desire to be right with God by His grace, He lifts us up.

Fasting is often an expression of mourning in the Bible. It helps us acknowledge our sinfulness and demonstrates that we are serious about changing and living in holiness. Then we can expect the Lord to lift us up and renew His joy in our hearts.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we recognize that our sin hurts your heart, and this grieves our heart. Teach us to mourn in a way that leads to humility and draws us toward you. Thank you for the wonderful promise that you will draw near to us and lift us up when we do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.