“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.”
Luke 11:27-36 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.11.27-36.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 ...