Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
1
There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under heaven.
2
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
4
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
8
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do. 11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him. 15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn.
These verses give me such comfort. It list all the emotions every human feels at some point in their lives and tells us it's okay to feel that way, but only for a time. I have a little saying that my friends have heard often, "don't wallow." In other words, don't deny the emotions you feel, just don't hang onto them. God has given his stamp of approval to feel the way you feel, but then you must get up and move on.
One thing God doesn't list are the emotions of anger and happiness. Why? I'm thinking it's because there is no place for unrighteous anger in our lives and happiness is it's antonym. A righteous anger is a fleeting anger. It's justified for correction, but then the anger is gone. Unrighteous anger engulfs and causes us to sin. It also tends to hang around forever.
Today, I pray you will find comfort in this season of your life.

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