Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. (Ecclesiastes 7:3-4)

All of us are familiar with the phrase “Good Grief!” It is uttered when we are frustrated or irritated, when the simplest of tasks seems impossible. Most often, perhaps almost always, the phrase relates to negative emotions. Is it possible that grief can be anything other than negative; that it in fact can be good? That is the wisdom we find in these two verses.

If we were playing a word association game, most of us would not immediately associate good with grief. In fact, we would be much more likely to associate grief with death or some other type of loss. We are not prone to choose sorrow over joy, tears or mourning over laughter. But Solomon writes that a sad countenance is good for the heart. How is that possible?

Sorrow is part of the human experience. It comes with the death of a loved-one, with the loss of a job or career, with the loss of a dream, or with the loss of a relationship. And then there is sorrow that comes from our own actions, from personal sin or careless decision making. Whatever the source, sorrow has a way of bringing us to the end of ourselves; to the point where we realize we aren’t smart enough to solve the problem or strong enough to scale the mountain in front of us. It’s in those moments that we find His grace to be sufficient, and we are ready to listen – and more teachable than in the normal routines of life.

There are five well-documented stages of grief, and professionals would tell us of the importance of working through the stages – of not getting stuck in grief. The Apostle Paul wrote: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). While the immediate context was addressing those who had already died, I want to suggest there is a larger principle for us to apply. Our grief should not be hopeless desperation. Rather amid grief, our hope should be anchored in the sufficient grace of the Lord.

"Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Feel the pain. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life he’s given you." John Piper

By Jesse Smith