Dear one,
For some years, this sentence has often arrested my attention:
“Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
In and of itself, this line seems to capture our very human experience of grief. In the midst of grievous loss—whether of a beloved one, of a missed opportunity, of a cherished ability, of a “secure” investment, or of a way of life—most of us know that dreaded nighttime experience:
From every corner, dark silence permeates; sleep escapes, the heart relentlessly compounds its ache, and the mind, like the old-fashioned movie reel, luridly replays the same sequences.
O’ that the long hours might pass, and when pre-grey twilight tinges the east, then … well, if not joy, at least relief colors the horizon.
But is relief tantamount to joy? I think not.
If I allow myself the broader context of Psalm 30, I recognize that this psalm is a song of praise—for healing, for aid amid dire distress, for the LORD’s gracious favor even given His anger. That is, David encouraged:
“Sing praises to the LORD … 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.”
David knew of a nighttime filled with weeping, of his failure and the consequence of his LORD’s justice; and yet he came to realize that his LORD’s anger was momentary. Without question, the anger was real, but so too was the dawning light streaming through opened windows. So too was the hope that poured over him: as difficult, as grievous as the previous day had been, daylight affirmed that the gift of life remained. But more than the gift of life, for David the Giver of that gift remained abiding and faithful.
I do not mean to suggest that the grief you and I might experience is the result of God’s anger; rather, in his experience, David knew, in spite of his LORD’s just anger, something greater and more wonderful: his Creator’s presence with him throughout. This, I believe, was the source of David’s joyful morn: irrespective his failure, his LORD remained present.
A friend recently suggested: Joy is the knowledge that another delights in our presence; that is, we know joy when another enjoys us.
Much in these days might be a cause for weeping, but our tears need not preclude joy: there is One, always present, who delights in us. May we enter into His joy.
Hopefully
Stan