Sadness can have a range of effects on faith, and it’s my belief that a truly robust faith has room for this feeling. For an earlier post about sadness, click here. To look at the intersection of sadness and faith, read on…

“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.”—C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” —Matthew 5:4

Jacob was alone and on the run when he had the vision of the ladder to heaven.
Naomi changed her name to “Mara” to reflect her bitter grief.
Elijah was depressed and isolated when God spoke through a still small voice.
Jeremiah, the “doom prophet,” was famously wrecked with depression.
Paul spoke with shame about the thorn in his flesh.
Jesus longed for the cup to pass from him.
And Job and the Teacher in Ecclesiastes… well, we’ll get to them.

Isolation, sadness, depression, shame— with all the pain biblical figures endured, is it any wonder God seems to find and speak to them so often at their lowest points? I’ve written before about how the Bible doesn’t have much to say to “strong people.” I think it also doesn’t have a ton to say to happy people. Time and again, God meets people in their sadness and reminds us God was with us all along.

The English poet and artist William Blake created a famous series of engravings and watercolors of the book of Job, and what has always stood out to me the most is how Blake chose to have God continually present through the pain and the arguments. Even in the sections of the book where God appears absent and silent, Blake depicts God always floating around the frame and listening in. As such, despite surely feeling alone, Job is never alone. A comforter is always at hand, not only in Job’s saddest times, but in ours as well.

Of course, sadness has an upside. We’ve spoken before in this series about how sadness has a way of granting perspective, empathy, and even rest. So it goes with sadness in our faith. We often think of the book of Ecclesiastes as kind of a downer, but the poet (often simply called “The Teacher”) speaks with incredible insight and perspective about life’s fleetingness and learning to reprioritize accordingly. So many of the things we want to accomplish in this life are vapors which will escape our grasp. We can’t carry any of this into the next life. That’s sad, and yet, for the Teacher in Ecclesiastes, it’s a sort of call to action to treasure these days and think about what’s really most important to us.

God is present with us even in our sadness.
It’s true for biblical figures.
It’s true for us today.
We can meet God in our sadness
and use that time to reflect on what really matters most.

Leave room for sadness in your faith.