Mourning and rejoicing belong together.

“And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.’ For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:9).

The Israelites were mourning because they knew they were guilty. The Word of God exposed their sin and stirred repentance in their hearts. The Scriptures are the standard which reveals how far you’ve fallen.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4). Those two go hand in hand. When I realize I am spiritually bankrupt before God, I can do nothing to earn His favor. When I realize how sinful I really am, I mourn over my condition.

That's called repentance. It’s like the tax collector in Luke 18 who beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (v. 13). And it’s like the crowd in the book of Acts, who were “cut to the heart” when Peter shared the gospel with them (Acts 2:37). “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).

By the way, this is why some people avoid the Bible altogether and would rather go to a church that doesn't teach through the Bible. They don't want to be convicted of their sin.

But now the pendulum swings to the other side—rejoicing. The leaders told the people, “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved’” (Nehemiah 8:10-11).

Here's why. If your mourning supersedes God's mercy, it's wrong. It's okay to mourn. It's okay to understand that you have fallen short. But then you must quickly realize, “God is merciful, and He loves to forgive. God has forgiven me, because of what Jesus did on the cross.”

It's possible to become so absorbed in our own failures that we forget God's forgiveness, and that's when mourning goes too far. So the Word says to rejoice: “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (v. 10).

Joy is always the by-product of a life surrendered to God.

David said in Psalms 19, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (v. 8). Though sometimes the Word of God hurts, the same Word that brings hurting will bring healing, soothing, comforting. Billy Sunday said, “The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable.”

I hope you have more than that. I hope you have enough to make you joyful.

So the people became hearers of the Word, and then they became doers of the Word (see James 1:22). They put it into practice. And that’s revival.

Revival happens when lives are changed. The results prove themselves. Thieves steal no more. Liars become honest. Adulterers grieve their infidelity. Covetous people lose their greediness. There's true repentance.

A saying often attributed to D.L. Moody: “Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather.” That is, we should read it, then we should put it on and walk in it. And then notice at the end of Nehemiah 8:17, “And there was very great gladness.”

Scriptural input is incomplete without obedience: Hearing what the Bible has to say and then doing it. Then you will experience “great gladness.” You’ll move from mourning to rejoicing.