Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Devotion based on James 4:9,10

Some of the best advice a person can receive when going through the grieving process is this: “You need to cry.” Some people will claim that they’re not “criers,” but it’s pretty clear that while living in this fallen world, there are times when crying is appropriate. Even Jesus cried when he went to the tomb of his friend Lazarus and when he wrestled in prayer with his heavenly Father over the painful mission he had been sent to accomplish by his death on the cross. So, if Jesus didn’t hold it in, we shouldn’t either. Crying is very much a part of the grieving process, so don’t cover it up. Let it rip. It’s healthy!

That’s also good advice when it comes to our sin. We tend to hide it, to cover it up. But that’s not healthy. In fact, it’s deadly. In Psalm 32, King David described the acute suffering he brought on himself by attempting to cover up his transgressions. It wasn’t a pretty picture. He confessed to the Lord, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” But what was David finally prompted to do? To let it go. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” His heartfelt confession and grief over his sin resulted in forgiveness, peace, and restoration.

Saint James urges us to take this same approach toward our own sin. “Grieve, mourn and wail,” he wrote. “Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord.” And why? Because when we do, the Lord “will lift (us) up” with his powerful and forgiving arms.

You can’t fix your sin by holding it in and covering it up. But Jesus can, and he does. So it’s always best to let it go.

Prayer: