“Then Jacob…mourned deeply for his son for a long time.
His family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.
‘I will go to my grave mourning for my son,’ he would say, and then he would weep.”
Genesis 37:34-35
When Jacob heard the news that his beloved son Joseph was assumed dead, he mourned so long that he thought he would die mourning. However, not many months prior, Jacob had heard Joseph report his dreams about the future and Jacob wondered what the dreams meant. So, had Jacob forgotten those dreams and the promises God had given him? Or had he replaced that hope with unbelief?
I remember a time in my life when I spent my days mourning over seemingly impossible situations. Even though I continually asked God for miracles in those individuals’ lives, I would still leave those times of prayer with a heavy heart. Because I carried that sadness with me, I could not even enjoy the time I spent with those precious people for whom I was praying. Instead, I kept focusing on what I could not yet see.
My years of tears came to a screeching halt the day I finally recognized the ugly truth of what fueled my mourning…it was unbelief! If I truly believed who God is and what He says, then I would trust that He IS at work, whether I see the results or not! Faith has literally turned my mourning into dancing. I know WHO is in charge, so I choose to die dancing rather than mourning!
