Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5b

Everything seems worse in the middle of the night. Whether physical or metaphorical, the baby’s fever seems much higher, the hill a much harder climb when you can’t see the top, and the bullfrogs are much louder in the wilderness.

When we don’t have a visual perspective of what is happening the darkness grows, presses upon us, and keeps some of us paralyzed in fear. Or maybe you are the frantic type, groping and stumbling and falling over your own feet in a desperate attempt for anything familiar in your path.

Hurt is hard, right? When a friend says a harsh word, when a congregant turns away from the Lord and blames your ministry, or when a spouse is fatally ill, life is hard. God can seem distant.

It’s hard to maintain perspective in these dark times of life. I’m so thankful that David doesn’t leave us in the night for long in this Psalm, because JOY comes in the morning.

Joy is something deep within us. It’s not the same as happiness. It’s something that oozes from our core and drips from our toes as we walk. John Piper says, “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.” When we look at joy this way, we can really start to view hard times and places differently.

Joy allows us to take the dark times and keep our perspective. It grounds us when things go wrong and keeps us from stumbling around blindly. It keeps us from losing the path the Lord has set before us. It may not make us happy – we will have trials here on earth – but it helps us to see Christ working all things for good. (Romans 8:28)

When I think of my hardest times, I remember weeping many tears in the cover of darkness, out of shame, desperation, and finally being alone to process the situation. I can think of some of those times waking up the next morning feeling the joy and peace of the Lord and wondering what seemed such a big deal the previous night. It doesn’t make much sense, nothing in the actual situation had changed overnight. But my soul had shifted, from weeping to joy in that movement from night time to morning.  

Be encouraged dear sisters, the dawn always follows dark nights. The Holy Spirit in you will help to sustain you. The Lord is there, even if He may feel distant, so call upon him. Joy does come as we wait upon Him.