“The eyes of all wait upon thee; And thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, And holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: But all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”
Psalm 145:15-21 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.145.15-21.KJV
Responding to God at All Times
Throughout our lives, we will all experience both suffering and joy. We'll have times of great grief and times of overflowing happiness. Sometimes, they’ll be separate seasons—but other times, these experiences come together.
In either case and in any situation, James expected Christians to come to God. If someone was suffering, prayer was the call to action. If someone was cheerful, people were to pause and praise God.
This might seem obvious, but when suffering clouds our thinking, we can sometimes forget to prioritize prayer. And when things are going well and we're feeling cheerful, it’s easy to just enjoy our season and not stop long enough to praise God for it. But every season of life is actually just an opportunity to put into practice what James wrote about…
When we are suffering, let us pray. When those around us are suffering, let us pray. When we are cheerful or happy, let us praise God. When others are happy, let us praise God with ...