Joy Comes in the Morning 4-24-26

This morning is already in full swing after only 20 minutes. Waking up (semi-reluctantly at first - and then wanting to see how God would start things off, getting up, making my bed - at 3:10 am! - so I had no reason to climb back under the covers!) and heading toward my laptop, I got diverted (“distracted by many things”) to pick something up, throw it away, swap laundry loads over from the washer to the dryer, send two emails for things that popped into my head once I was at the keyboard… I have all day to do these things! I don’t want to miss out on my “One-on-one time” with God while the rest of the world is still sleeping!

As I was reviewing my day from yesterday and a conversation I had with a very long-time friend, a song emerged from Proverbs 30:5 - “For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” Looking it up on YouTube to hear the whole song is a challenge - I hadn’t realized how many songs have “joy comes in the morning” in it! Hearing snippets of the others was an unexpected treat as memories and promises collided.

So many artists have come out with very different songs on this verse and it’s no wonder! There is a lot of weeping in our world, Jesus warned us there would be! But like He promised and encouraged us, “...take heart. I have overcome the world!”

The heavenly assurances that joy WILL come in the morning, even though the weeping and the hurting does come - and sometimes lasts longer than we think we can bear sometimes - are a deep consolation and a conviction of hope that is a sure foundation for our perseverance in trial!

Sometimes, the weeping that “endures for a night” is by our own making. Sometimes it is other people’s broken choices. Many times it is a combination of both. But, as Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 

That particular passage is so encouraging as it walks us through the process of turning to God with the things that had been eating us up inside and, through confession and repentance, allowing Him to remove the stench of death, the weight of regret, and the guilt of our sin, sets us free to live in the joy He strengthens His children by. "The joy of the LORD is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10)

Trying to by-pass this God-centered process and attempting to get rid of the “weeping” in other ways makes it last longer. This is because using alternative methods to numb out the pain doesn't remove it; it adds to it. Like taking a glass of muddy water and adding screen time, shopping, alcohol, drugs, or anything else that distracts us instead of addressing it, it just “muddies the water” more. 

Only by adding the “water of the Word” to overflowing can the “mud” be displaced, our consciences be cleansed and our lives once again become clear and joy-filled.

One of our youth leaders a few weeks ago demonstrated this in the kitchen with a glass of water he had mixed with dark cherry juice. The water was deep red; you couldn’t see through it at all. By adding water from the faucet and letting it overflow the edges of the glass, it started to clear up. But then he stopped. We could see some things through the glass but it was still tinged with a dark pink color. He explained if we stop here, our vision is still clouded, and then making more bad choices (pouring more cherry juice into the glass) darkens the water again. That’s why it’s so important to keep pouring in the clean water” And in a very short time, the water in the glass was completely clear.

Clear vision, joy, refreshment, clear communication with God and other people - is SO worth the temporary “weeping” in confession and repentance, “pouring” over the Word and regaining communion with the Father, during the “nights” of guilt and regrets flushes the mud out of places we can’t reach in the shower, screentime, shopping malls and the rest! 

It’s still early! The sun hasn’t come up yet! Take Him at His Word, grab your Bible and a glass of water! :-) Joy’s coming in the morning!