When Touched By God’s Word Should I Cry or Rejoice?

Nehemiah 8:9-12 (NIV) – 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. DO NOT MOURN OR WEEP.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, “GO and ENJOY CHOICE FOOD and SWEET DRINKS, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. DO NOT GRIEVE, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. DO NOT GRIEVE.” 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

What kind of response impresses God? Does God sympathize with me when I cry and therefore acts in my favor? Does God like it when I am excited and enjoying life with good food and sweet drinks? How should I respond to please God?

Ezra, Nehemiah and other leaders had just led Israelites in their first public worship many years after captivity. For the first time they heard God’s word being read. For the first time they heard an explanation of the Will of God for them. God had been good to them over the years. How should they respond to the word of God?

The God they had offended had forgiven them and brought them back to their home. The God they had offended had a clear Will that they had defied. This was a moment of reconciliation. There was no more hostility between them and God. It was a great moment listening to the Will of God for them. How do you respond to such a moment?

The Israelites responded by crying. They were wailing and weeping. They were ashamed of themselves. How could they have offended such a good God? How could God be so good to them yet they were so bad? They responded by crying.

Tears of joy. Tears of shame. It was a moment like no other. God has been revealed through His word. They were all flabbergasted by the goodness of God. They responded by crying.

Sometimes we cry because we are moved by pain. Sometimes we cry because we are embarrassed by our actions. Sometimes we cry because we think it is the appropriate response that will cause God to bless us. Yet not all time is crying time.

In our text today, the leaders are recorded pleading with people not to cry. The leaders urge the people to instead rejoice and celebrate. The leaders tell the people that what would please God at this moment is not their tears but their celebrations and joy. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NIV) – a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

Not all responses require shedding tears. While God is impressed by a broken heart that now hates sin and has returned to Him, it is not the tears that touched God but the returning. God is glad you are back to Him. God doesn’t react to our tears but to the situation. 

Tears can be manipulative. God cannot be manipulated by tears. We should only shed tears if it is the true reflection of our feelings. We should only shed tears if it is appropriate to do so. There is a time to shed tears, but there is a time for celebration.

If God only appreciates our tears then He is a sadist. God doesn’t get thrilled by our suffering. We shouldn’t use the shedding of tears as a means to impress God.

Only shed tears when it’s appropriate to the occasion and a true reflection of the personal experience. It should not be a means to catch God’s attention and cause Him to do what He wouldn’t have otherwise done.

Mark 2:19-20 (NIV) – 19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

There is a time when fasting is appropriate and a time when it is out of place. The disciples of Jesus did not fast at all while He was with them. Jesus said, a time will come when it will be appropriate for them to fast. We should not fast as a routine but only when there is a need. We should not cry as a routine response to God’s word, sometimes the response is celebration.

In the book of Nehemiah, we are told that God wanted the people to respond by celebrating. They were to only eat their favorite food. They were to drink sweet drinks. They were to gather in parties. God likes it when we are enjoying life!

Our happiness and celebrations impress God. He loves to watch us in a happy mood. God knows the favorite food of each one of us. It is not the will of God that we persevere through meals. God knows what drinks are sweet. It is not the will of God that we struggle with bitter concoctions. God wants us happy!

God who has prepared eternal life of happiness, wants us happy even now. It is the devil who wants us to feel guilty when we are happy. The devil wants us to feel guilty when enjoying food, drinks and celebrating. This is because it makes believing God to be a hard, painful, boring life. Yet God wants us happy!

If you feel guilty and uncomfortable when taking good food and drinks, there is a problem. If you feel like you are losing faith because you are in a celebration mood, there is a problem. If you only feel spiritual when taking healthy but unpalatable foods and drinks, there is a problem. If you only feel closer to God when the mood is somber, there is a problem. The problem is you don’t know our God and what pleases Him.

Do you know we will not get to heaven based on how much we suffered? Do you know that salvation is free and not a reward for taking ourselves through boring dress, flat food, bitter drinks and sad life? Do you know heaven is eternal celebration and enjoyment of life? Do you know God wants us to have a little heaven down here?

A sad boring life is not evangelistic. Who wants to be part of a community that lives on tasteless food, bitter concoctions, backward dressing and boring life? Our lifestyle should attract people to our good God.

There is a time to shed tears. There is a time to bear the suffering. There is also a time to celebrate. May God help us to know the difference and respond appropriately. May God grant us many more happy days to celebrate in this life and in the life to come eternal enjoyment. May God save us from pain and boring life. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

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