On this day in 1999, Charles M. Schulz announced that he was retiring his Peanuts comic strip.

“Good grief!” says Charlie Brown, commenting on his latest misadventure. Charlie, his sister Sally, his friends Linus, Pigpen, Lucy, Schroeder, and Peppermint Patty, and his dog Snoopy are characters featured in the Peanuts comic strip.

Your newspaper may still carry Peanuts. Although it officially ended after 18,000 strips on February 13, 2000, many newspapers reprint it. Charlie the lovable loser never seems to get it right, whether playing baseball, kicking a football, picking a Christmas tree, or trying to impress the mysterious little red-haired girl. And with each misadventure he exclaims, “Good grief!” The comic strip was wildly successful probably because most people could identify with Charlie. We all have days when nothing seems to go right, and we sigh, “Good grief!”

That’s a strange expression, isn’t it? What could possibly be good about grief? Grieving means loss and sorrow and tears. It seems to be the opposite of good. Putting those two words together is like combining “high low,” “empty full,” or “friend enemy.” Right?

Well, yes and no. The Bible points out how sorrow can actually be good for us.

Consider today’s verse in which Paul explains that “God can use sorrow in our lives” for good. If you’ve been punished for doing something wrong, for example, you know that your sorrow and bad feelings taught you a valuable lesson. Or if you have been injured while doing something and then realize it could have been much worse, then you actually feel glad about the injury, even though it hurts. So grief can be good after all, especially if it pushes us away from sin and toward God.

For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death (2 Corinthians 7:10).

To Do

Think back over the past year and list the “sorrows” that have been good. What lessons did you learn? In what ways was your grief good? Review Romans 8:28.

Also on this day

This is Yuletide Lads Day in Iceland, so if you’re traveling there, be prepared to celebrate.

1799—George Washington died at the age of 67.

1918—For the first time in Britain, women voted in a general election.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.