Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
This verse is straightforward and encouraging. It doesn’t say that we should ‘turn their sadness into joy,’ ‘fix the problems of the weepers,’ or ‘always rejoice and never weep.’ There will come a day when Jesus will utterly destroy death and sorrow forever. In heaven, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Until that glorious day, we live in a world where we experience sorrow, loss, disappointment, and injustice. People everywhere – believers in Jesus, those who hope that God is, and those who deny the existence of God – suffer. Our response to anyone dealing with sorrow should be compassion. Compassion listens without anticipating or seeking a solution. Then, even when words fail, compassion moves us to weep with those who weep, in our attitude and in our tears.
The emotions and situations surrounding us are like a multi-colored rainbow. Some people are rejoicing and dancing while others are dealing with sorrow and grief. The spectrum of emotions that we experience is not bad, it is simply life. Our journey takes us to mountain tops and through dark valleys. Most of our days are spent somewhere in between. If your heart is filled with sorrow, I pray that you can find a few people who will listen and be there for you. I pray that you can find space in which to grieve, to see Jesus, and to eventually continue in the journey with Him. I am grateful that scripture tells us that it is good to enter into the emotional parameters of those in our lives – even at both ends of the spectrum.
At times this may be challenging, but we can do all things through Christ. When we are sad and someone else is rejoicing, we can ask God for the strength to rejoice. When we are joyful and someone else is filled with sorrow, we can ask God to give us the strength to bear their struggle with them. What a beautiful way to tangibly reveal God’s heart. He is there for us all, in every dimension of our lives. There are many voices in the world attempting to create division. This is troubling. Some people are trying to dictate which situations or people are worthy of our dancing or our tears. However, God challenges us to be people who stand in the middle with Him: to rejoice with these and weep with those. This is the heart of God, this is wisdom from above, and this is the power of His people.