Last week I wrote a post titled “Where Are You, God?” Several of you reached out and said how encouraging and helpful it was. If you haven’t read that yet, start there!
I was reading Psalm 30 the other morning and something stuck out to me. Usually when this happens I start writing a new post (I probably have 30+ of these sitting around).
The thoughts were related to what I wrote in “Where Are You, God?“, however, and I decided not to write. But I kept feeling prompted, which usually means someone needs to hear what was coming to me, so I relented.
“The deepest pains may linger through the night, but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.” Psalm 30:5b (Voice).
I know we’ve all heard or read that verse before, and probably sang it in some worship songs. It’s easy to read or sing when things are fine. “Of course! Joy comes in the morning! Woohoo! God is good! Now let’s go get some tacos!” (I think about food a lot).
But when things are not fine, it almost feels like a slap in the face. Like, “What am I doing wrong? Where’s the joy? This is the longest night of my life.”
This thought struck me; they’re not talking about a literal night and morning, like everything will be fine by tomorrow. Deep down I think we all know that.
But when you hear or read such anecdotal statements, even when it’s from the Bible, we wonder if there’s something wrong with us because it hasn’t changed quickly like we thought (and hoped) it would.
The “night” they’re referring to (sometimes called the “dark night of the soul”) can last days, weeks, or months. Perhaps even years.
The promise isn’t that you’ll wake up tomorrow and everything will be fine. Instead, it’s this: at some point, joy is coming. The morning is coming. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but it IS coming.
Hang onto that! Keep pressing in!
I’ve heard it said that it gets the darkest just before the sun comes up. If your life feels like it’s so dark, like the light is so far away, cling to this truth…
Morning is on the way, and you will have a sunrise!
Until then, know that He is with you. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18 (NLT).
I hope this speaks to someone. I was feeling waves of intense empathy as I was writing, so I’m pretty sure one of you needed to hear this.
If there’s something you’re going through right now and need prayer and support, we’re here for you! You can comment below or send us a message:
~Nick
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