“A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: And their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; And with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favour of the LORD. The poor useth intreaties; But the rich answereth roughly. A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:19-24 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.18.19-24.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 ...