Joy Comes With The Morning

Joy Comes With The Morning

Psalm 30:5 “For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night,  but joy comes with the morning.”

There is a song I listen to, but of course now that I want to know what song it is, I can’t think of it.  The chorus of this song sings “joy come with the morning.”  I love this idea and so when I heard this verse the other day I knew that was what I wanted to talk about today.  The first line of the verse is also an important thing to remember.  God does get mad at us.  He has over seven billion children, of course He gets angry sometimes.  I think if I were parent over everyone on Earth, I would be mad most of the time because this world is going crazy.  There is so much going on today that is not of God and that is heartbreaking to me.  I can only imagine what it feels like to God.  According to the internet there are 2.3 billion Christians in the world.  This means that 70% of His children have turned away, rejected Him, or are worshiping false Gods.  That has got to be hard to watch.  

However, this verse gives us hope because it says His anger is but for a moment and His favor is for a lifetime.  If you find favor in the Lord, that will last your whole lifetime.  God loves each and everyone of us.  It is not Him that turns away from us, it is us that walks away from Him.  Or maybe we don’t walk away, but we don’t follow His commandments either.  We all have God’s favor from the beginning.  If we lose His favor it is because of our actions and not because of anything God does.  God has told us throughout the Bible, whether it be with His words directly, or though the stories of others in the Bible, that if we want to be back in His favor, all we need to do is repent.  He is so forgiving and loving.  He is there waiting for us with open arms to turn back to Him and run into His loving arms.  

It is never too late to repent and to turn back.  We tend to think whatever we did was too bad for God to forgive, or maybe we think we have been away for so long that we can’t possibly go back to church now.  You can go back, it is not too late.  It says in Luke 15:7, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  It is great if we can all follow God’s commandments, never go astray and just worship God.  However, He is saying right in this verse that He rejoices more over those of us that mess up, we repent and we turn back.  Maybe you did some truly awful things and you are sure God won’t forgive you.  Maybe you don’t feel that what you did was awful, but it did go on for too long and now you can’t come back.  If you are struggling in anyway with thinking God won’t forgive you, I want you to write down the Luke 15:7 verse and look at it often.  God rejoices when we turn away and then turn back.  

The last line says, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  I love this because it show that we won’t be sad forever, joy will come again.  I have a friend right now that may be losing her brother.  He had a stroke and was making progress and then went into congestive heart failure and the doctors are not giving the family much hope.  Luckily my friend is a very devout Catholic and she knows and believes that there is always Hope in the Lord.  She knows that it is not over until its over, and then sometimes its not even over.  For instance Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead after 4 days and a little girl back shortly after she died.  However, we don’t see this a lot in today’s day and age.  We do see miracles though and God may choose to give my friend a miracle.  However, He may not and that is so hard.

Having a loved one that is sick is so difficult.  There are so many emotions that you cycle through.  This is normal.  It is ok to be sad, mad, even happy.  That may sound weird, but if your loved one has been suffering for a long time and then they pass away you may be happy they are finally out of pain.  Whatever, you are feeling, allow yourself to feel it without judgement.  Our feelings are one way that our body communicates with us and also a way to warn us of danger.  I have heard anger can be a very useful emotion because it can give you the courage to stand up for yourself.  However, too much anger, expressed badly is not helpful.  Also, I think it is important to mention because I don’t think everyone is aware, you can have two competing emotions at the same time.  It is ok if you feel sad that you are losing a loved one and also happy at the same time that they will be out of pain.  You can be happy if you are having a baby and yet nervous at the same time.  Our human brains are capable of handling more than one emotion at a time.  I mention this because we are hard on ourselves and we judge ourselves often.  If possible, try to accept your emotions as they come.  Let them wash over you and acknowledge them.  Sit with them and allow yourself to feel them, don’t shut them down.  If you allow them to come you will feel better sooner.  

If you are in a really hard place right now, whether it is a loved one that is sick, hard times financially, unemployed, tired from chasing small children, or anything else that has you worried or sad, I want you to write this verse on a sticky note and put it up somewhere you will see it often.  “Weeping may linger for the night,  but joy comes with the morning.” I know it feels like you will be sad forever, struggling financially forever, missing your prodigal children forever, or whatever your version of struggle is, but joy will come with the morning.  This darkness will end with the same certainty that the night always ends and gives way to the morning.  The darkness always comes into our lives, but God doesn’t let it stay forever.  Just like He doesn’t let night stay forever, The sun rises every morning and so will the light come back into your life.  

One thing to remember that God mentions a lot in the Bible is that if you want to help bring that light in sooner, praise God while you are in the dark.  Praise Him for everything you can be grateful for.  Praise Him for the little wins, and you will see more.  Look for God’s work in your darkness and you will begin to see pockets of light.  You will get through this, I promise you will!  I know it may not seem like it and that is ok.  Even if you can’t imagine ever feeling better, just keep taking one step and then other and you will be walking in the light again one day soon.  For all of you that are listening and are struggling I just want you to know that you are loved and that you are seen!  God sees you and He is right there with you.  Lean into Him and He will guide you through this tough time.  Joy will come with the morning, that is a promise from God.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing and we are grateful you always bring joy with the morning.  Lord, I know so many that are struggling with one thing or another right now.  We ask you to fill them with your peace and help them trust all with be OK.  We ask that you fill them with love and let them know you are there.  We ask that you fill them with discernment as to what they should do in their particular circumstances.  Lord, we ask that you help us to always remember that your anger is but for a moment; and your favor is for a lifetime. That weeping may linger for the night,  but joy comes with the morning.  Help us to believe this with our whole heart, Lord.  Help us to know that we can always repent and turn back to you and you will not only forgive us but rejoice because of our turning back.  We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow.  Have a blessed day!

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