How do I handle times of sadness?

Psalm 42:5-6Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.

We need to bring God into the conversations we are having with ourselves about our sadness and its causes. We may not even fully know why we are sad until we express our hope in him.

Luke 18:23When the man heard this he became sad, for he was very rich.

In his conversation with Jesus, the rich young man was confronted with a truth about himself, and he became sad about it rather than choosing to change. Sadness can be a healthy feeling generated by a growing awareness of hidden hypocrisy or dishonesty within us.

Romans 12:15Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

When confronted by another’s sadness, we should be willing to identify with their feelings and encourage them by our presence.

1 Corinthians 7:30-31Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.

Both sadness and happiness are often caused by our loss or gain of temporary things in this life. A loss of temporary things should never distract us from the greater truth of our eternal future with God.

James 4:9Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

Without sadness, our repentance of sin tends to be shallow. The truth of our sins of omission or commission usually need to generate real feelings before we are motivated to confess from the heart and ask God for forgiveness.