Joy in the Morning

Lord, I will give you honor.
You brought me out of deep trouble.
You didn’t give my enemies the joy of seeing me die.
² Lord my God, I called out to you for help.
And you healed me.
³ Lord, you brought me up from the place of the dead.
You kept me from going down into the pit.

⁴ Sing the praises of the Lord, you who are faithful to him.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
⁵ His anger lasts for only a moment.
But his favor lasts for a person’s whole life.
Weeping can stay for the night.
    But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:1-5

As a young person, I thought verse 5(b) meant that I could literally weep through the night, and in the morning everything would be okay.  Through many years, circumstances, and situations I have learned that our weeping is seasonal.  There are seasons of weeping, sadness, sickness, grieving, and sorrow.  Can I just make it through the night?

I have never been a great sleeper.  In this season of life, I often don’t sleep at all during the night.  I don’t know why.  Some people tell me once I am still my mind goes into overdrive.  A few friends say, “cut the caffeine”, “listen to the app of rain falling on the roof of the car”.  AND YET, the night just gets darker and darker.

While some nights seem longer than others, somewhere in the journey through the night I have learned to anticipate the dawn.  His word says that even if you cry all night long, through the dark night of the soul- the morning is STILL coming.

Jesus hears our prayer, the cry of our heart.  He hears the words we cannot speak when we are overwhelmed.  I know he is thinking about me and working on my behalf. The hope of joy may still be out of my line of sight, but there is a promise from the Living God that joy will come through at the appointed time.

Are you in a season of darkness?  Is your heart heavy today with the weight of the burdens that you carry?  Perhaps you feel that your weeping will never end.  Let us live in the promise of the joy that will come.  These words say it best for me:

“Hold on my child,

Joy comes in the morning.

The darkest hour means

Dawn is just in sight.”

-Pastor Danene