“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: The LORD is the maker of them all. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: But the simple pass on, and are punished. By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, and honour, and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it. The rich ruleth over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Proverbs 22:1-7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.22.1-7.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 ...