Sorrow and Joy

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Amy Boucher-Pye, and I titled today's article, Sorrow and Joy. Angela's family reeled with sorrow as they experienced three bereavements in just four weeks.

After the one involving the sudden death of their nephew, Angela and her two sisters gathered around the kitchen table for three days, only leaving to buy an urn, get takeout, and attend the funeral. As they wept over his death, they also rejoiced over the ultrasound photos of the new life growing within their youngest sister. In time, Angela found comfort and hope from the Old Testament book of Ezra. It describes God's people returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonians destroyed the temple and deported them from their beloved city.

As Ezra watched the temple being rebuilt, he heard joyful praises to God. But he also listened to the weeping of those who remembered life before exile. One verse in chapter 3 especially consoled Angela. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping because the people made so much noise. She realized that even if she was drenched in deep sorrow, joy could still appear. We too might grieve the death of a loved one or mourn a different loss.

If so, we can express our cries of pain along with our moments of rejoicing to God, knowing that He hears us and gathers us in His arms. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ezra chapter 3 verses 8 through 13. In the second month of the second year, after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Sheatiel, Joshua son of Josadak, and the rest of the people, the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work. They appointed Levites 20 years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord.

Joshua and his sons and brothers, and Cadmiel and his sons, descendants of Hodavia, and the sons of Hanadad and their sons and brothers, all Levites joined together in supervising those working on the house of God. When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with symbols, took their places to praise the Lord as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord, He is good, His love toward Israel endures forever. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud as they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise, and the sound was heard far away. Let's pray together. Loving God, in this world we so often experience pain and suffering. We ask you to spark joy in us as we look to you for hope and for peace. And we pray in the precious name of your Son Jesus. Amen. Thank you for listening. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.