“Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside? That we may seek him with thee. My beloved is gone down into his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens, And to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies. Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, For they have overcome me: Thy hair is as a flock of goats That appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep Which go up from the washing, Whereof every one beareth twins, And there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Within thy locks.”
Song of Solomon 6:1-7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/sng.6.7.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 ...