Morning Joy

March 4

Leviticus 23-24

Psalm 30:1-6

Proverbs 7:1-3

Mark 7:17-37

Morning Joy

“Weeping may stay for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b NIV

In this life, we will experience difficulty. There will be long nights filled with weeping and sadness. We will have to deal with the death of loved ones, hurtful words by a family member, and rejection by a dear friend. There will be moments of fear, heartache, loneliness, and mourning. But as children of God, we have the assurance that “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness, Lord.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) No matter what we are experiencing we know that our Heavenly Father loves us and will take us through to the other side. There may be difficult days, but there is hope because joy comes in the morning.

Things often seem worse during the night. I lay awake at night worrying about things that many times never happen. In the darkness my imagination tends to run away with me, and my mind goes down paths of fear and dread that have very little basis in reality. Satan loves the darkness because he knows that truth is revealed in the light. He can convince me of things in the night that I would never believe in the light of day. I have found that even when the things I have feared actually happen they are often not as bad as I had imagined they would be. And I know that in everything that happens, I am never alone. My loving Lord is with me each step of the way to help me, guide me, comfort me, and see me through whatever happens. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.