Walking with the Wise #285: The Power of Joy & Sorrow

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,


but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”

—Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

Laughter is the best medicine. Scientists have long chronicled the health benefits of laughter and a cheerful heart. We all know what it's like to be down in the dumps or depressed, but we also know what it's like to be around some old friends who make us laugh and cheer us up. The great movie maker, Steven Spielberg, reportedly got so depressed while making Schindler’s List that his close friend Robin Williams would call him every so often just to cheer him up. A cheerful heart is one of God’s natural remedies to the soul.

The same is true for a broken spirit. Those who are down and depressed find themselves tired, lethargic, and often disinterested in what’s going on around them. David was one of those. He felt his spirit broken after he had sinned. God’s Spirit was upon him, working through his conscience, giving him no respite until he confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness, as David wrote:

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer”
—Psalm 32:3-4.

David’s strength was sapped because of his sin, and it wasn’t until after he confessed it that God restored his spirit:

“I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin”
—Psalm 32:5.

For the spirit broken because of sin, laughter can do nothing. Only repentance can restore that joy (Psalm 51:12). Not all spirits are broken because of sin; others have entirely different roots that laughter may well help alleviate. Our responsibility is to recognize that the root cause of someone’s sorrow may have a multi-faceted solution—laughter, confession, love, or simply calling out to the Lord.

Are you experiencing a broken spirit right now? Is it because of sin? If so, confess to the Lord and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). Is it life circumstance? Call some old friends who can cheer you up, call upon the Lord, read the Word of God, or preach to your soul (Psalm 42:5). Don’t be trapped by your brokenness; let Christ be your all in all, and cast all of your burdens upon Him, for He cares for you. Amen.