Advent Devotional Dec 14
Week Three:
Creating Shalom means Sounding Joy
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
“Every Tear is Precious” – Read Psalm 30
You turned my wailing into dancing; / you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. (v. 11, NIV)
My grandmother and I were sitting in the dining room eating pizza while my dad was on the other side of the wall, slipping away from this life to the next as cancer devoured the remainder of his once healthy, vibrant body. “No parent should have to bury their child,” she said with tears streaming down her face.
In less than a week, she was doing exactly that. Though he was 40 years old, in her eyes, he was still the little boy she had raised into a fine husband, father, and business owner. I did not fully understand her statement until I had a child myself, and now I understand it more than I want to.
In Psalm 42, we read these words: “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’” (v. 1). During my father’s illness, there were days when it felt like tears were the only food I had, and people, including myself, at times questioned where God was. And sometimes we were crying while we were eating!
As we move toward Advent and as we think about how creating shalom brings joy, what do tears have to do with it? Tears can signal sadness and emotion, but they may also be inviting us to engage another person. Every day, we encounter people who are shedding tears. We have the opportunity to wipe those tears from their eyes -- by offering a shoulder on which another can cry, writing an encouraging note, or listening without thinking about our own response.
Psalm 42 ends with both a question and note of hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (v. 11). Our Psalm for today says the same thing, just a bit differently, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (v. 5). Tears, yes, but hope and joy return. And even then, we may have tears!
Lord, the Psalmist says that every time I toss in bed, you know it (Ps. 6). And when I cry, you keep every one of my tears (Ps. 56). Let me count every sorrow I see in others as precious as you do, O Lord. Help them to trust in your joy, as I do, a joy that is surely coming our way. Amen.
Rev. Derrek Belase, Director of Connectional Ministries
The Oklahoma Conference of the UMC
“Every Tear is Precious” – Read Psalm 30
You turned my wailing into dancing; / you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. (v. 11, NIV)
My grandmother and I were sitting in the dining room eating pizza while my dad was on the other side of the wall, slipping away from this life to the next as cancer devoured the remainder of his once healthy, vibrant body. “No parent should have to bury their child,” she said with tears streaming down her face.
In less than a week, she was doing exactly that. Though he was 40 years old, in her eyes, he was still the little boy she had raised into a fine husband, father, and business owner. I did not fully understand her statement until I had a child myself, and now I understand it more than I want to.
In Psalm 42, we read these words: “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’” (v. 1). During my father’s illness, there were days when it felt like tears were the only food I had, and people, including myself, at times questioned where God was. And sometimes we were crying while we were eating!
As we move toward Advent and as we think about how creating shalom brings joy, what do tears have to do with it? Tears can signal sadness and emotion, but they may also be inviting us to engage another person. Every day, we encounter people who are shedding tears. We have the opportunity to wipe those tears from their eyes -- by offering a shoulder on which another can cry, writing an encouraging note, or listening without thinking about our own response.
Psalm 42 ends with both a question and note of hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (v. 11). Our Psalm for today says the same thing, just a bit differently, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (v. 5). Tears, yes, but hope and joy return. And even then, we may have tears!
Lord, the Psalmist says that every time I toss in bed, you know it (Ps. 6). And when I cry, you keep every one of my tears (Ps. 56). Let me count every sorrow I see in others as precious as you do, O Lord. Help them to trust in your joy, as I do, a joy that is surely coming our way. Amen.
Rev. Derrek Belase, Director of Connectional Ministries
The Oklahoma Conference of the UMC
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