“I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: Eat, O friends; Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. I sleep, but my heart waketh: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, My dove, my undefiled: For my head is filled with dew, And my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; How shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; How shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, And my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, Upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: My soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, That ye tell him, that I am sick of love.”
Song of Solomon 5:1-8 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/sng.5.1-8.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 ...