"Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning."
Psalm 30:5
Many years ago, my father was critically ill as a patient in the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor had already shared with me that he didn't have long to live. On that night, the words came to my mind, "Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Those words I knew as Scripture, but why did they come to mind at that point? My father passed away the next morning. I asked the Lord, "What do those words mean for me? I don't understand." I had no joy at that sad hour. Then, the thought came to me, "my weeping, his joy." My dad had entered the joy of the Lord. Strangely enough, some friends sent flowers with that verse on the card. This Scripture verse had brought comfort to my heart.
The psalmist wrote these words in Psalm 30:5 at a critical moment in his life. He was sick and near death. He wept and cried out to the Lord. God met him at the point of his crisis. In his weeping, the Lord had mercy (Psalm 30:10). His prayer had been answered. He responded, "O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever" (Psalm 30:12). He went through a valley of weeping, but joy came in the morning.
No one is exempt from the dark night of the soul. God's people have human emotions like anyone else, and sometime this includes weeping. Yet, there is a difference. He gives comfort and assurance through His Word. The same verse of Scripture may have many different applications at different times for different people. In your time of sorrow, God has a word of comfort and peace for you. He has a word for you today and everyday. If the day comes for you that includes weeping, remember joy comes in the morning.
Prayer: Father, You see our tears and know our sorrows. We need Your Word of assurance and comfort through it all, in Jesus name. Amen.
