Joy In The Morning

His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:5

HAVE YOU EVER wept over a problem for a whole night? A week? A month? Probably few of us have ever wept more than an hour at a time. But there are many situations that do drive us to weeping: the loss of a loved one. Our house burned and all our possessions gone. Our beloved child turning from God. A pet dying in the street, killed by a speeding driver. Struggling and fighting and working and seeing no end to the strain.

Weeping is a very natural and normal human response to conditions we feel we cannot bear. But God understands. When we weep, he does not reel off a bunch of Bible verses; he weeps with us. When we’re ready to accept his words, he gives them to us.

And the fact is that often joy does come in the morning. A new day, sunlight, seeing things with a new perspective, or gaining some insight from the Spirit during our time in the dark often returns us to optimism and hope. God promises never to leave us weeping for so long that we give up. He wants us to trust him and to let our tears be the means to reflection, prayer, and looking to him. His promise is to give us the strength that empowers us to face the trial once more, this time with hope, endurance, and the certainty that joy will come “with the morning.”