Bible Thoughts July 2, 2000
"And the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou
art not sick?"(Nehemiah 2:2).
When the king asked Nehemiah this question, he was concerned about him. For some time, Nehemiah has been sad in the presence of Artaxerexes. The king decided that it was caused by "sorrow of heart." Since the king cared for Nehemiah, he wanted to know what made him so sad.
The sadness felt by Nehemiah was due to the condition of Jerusalem. The gates and the walls of Jerusalem, his home, had been destroyed by invading armies and, now, his beloved city was lying in waste. As the man of God thought about the temple, the buildings, the gates, and the walls of that sacred place, it was only natural that he mourn. The sadness touched the king and permitted Nehemiah to take the steps to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Now, the sorrow could be dealt with by working to restore what belonged to the Hebrews. To erase sadness when something needs to be done, "Work heartily, as unto the Lord"(Colossians 3:23).
Sadness of heart can come from many different sources. Christians are sad when those who should obey the gospel do not respond. The desire of God's people is that all men be saved. But, few respond to the teachings of God's word. We rejoice over the few, but we are sad for all of those who know the truth but do not respond to the Lord's teachings. One responded in this manner, "Go thy way for this time; and when I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me." To our knowledge, Felix never found a convenient season.
Sadness of heart comes into the Christian when those who know the truth, have obeyed the gospel, and yet, fail to walk in the paths of righteousness. Does it not make you feel sad when you know of someone who became a Christian, but did not continue to be faithful? The Lord received the good servant because he was "found faithful"(Luke 19:17).
Sadness of heart is felt when those who know the truth, and have continued faithful for a long period, but toward the end of life turn away from the Lord and His commands. How much it pains Christians who were close friends of such folks to see them drift away, refusing to listen to the teaching and encouragement of fellow disciples. How sad it is that some disciples will spend years serving the Lord, sacrificing, and worshipping, and then, turn back into the world. "For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them"(II Peter 2:21).
Sadness of heart is felt when parents do not bring up their children by nurturing them "in the chastening and admonition of the Lord"(Ephesians 6:4). It is the responsibility of parents to see their children are guided in the paths of righteousness: they brought them into this world. It is not unusual for parents to turn their children over to the school, the community, and yes, even the church, to teach, discipline and guide in matters of morals. When parents abandon their responsibility and permit children to be influenced by other forces, sadness will be felt by such negligent parents. It is sad in our day to see the lack of discipline, the lack of guidance, the lack of encouragement, and the lack of spiritual training provided for so many children. Has our society become so busy at increasing personal wealth and stature that we have forgotten our duties to the coming generations? Many parents will live to experience sadness of heart because they failed to lead their children in the paths of righteousness.
Sadness of heart is felt when Christians do not put the kingdom of God and His righteousness first(Matthew 6:33). The things of this life are secondary to working for a home in heaven. Why is it that some Christians never seem to have a problem at being faithful? attending all the services? giving as prospered? visiting the sick? encouraging the downtrodden? seeing to the needs of others? supporting the truth? The answer: such disciples seek the way of the Lord first. Do such folks not have families? a job? friends? obligations? Surely, but they remember the Lord comes first.
Gladness of heart comes to the faithful disciple of Christ. It is a joy to be present with other Christians in worshipping God. It is a delight to associate with fellow disciples. It is an encouragement to know that a person was helped spiritually because time was devoted to help. What joy for Christians to see those who are faithful because of the influence of a fellow disciple. The list could be endless, but all should see the point. Paul even found cause for rejoicing and being happy when he was persecuted for the cause of Christ. Whatever was done to Paul that would cause sadness in most, he took it all in stride, remaining faithful unto death, knowing that a crown of life awaited him(Revelation 2:10).
You can turn your sadness into gladness by resolving to be a faithful disciple every day of your life; determining that you will permit nothing to interfere with your service to the God who created you. One's happiness as a Christian is determined by one's faithfulness to the Lord. It is up to each disciple to control his/her happiness; but help can be sought by association with happy disciples of Christ.