Joy Cometh in the Morning

On Sunday morning, I temporarily concluded my series on the life of David. 1 Samuel’s final chapter was a grim telling of Israel’s defeat at Gilboa, the royal family’s slaughter, and King Saul’s post-mortem mutilation. The Philistine victory is proclaimed in the pagan temples and the Promised Land is inhabited by uncircumcised Philistines in the wake of the Israelites’ fleeing away. It’s a sad end to the book and not an easy passage from which to lift an up-beat message before a church lunch.

In Psalm 30:5, we read, ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ The night which is the cause of our weeping often gets darker before the morning comes. Israel’s prospects look bleak, but their greatest king will soon accede to the throne:

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

On the night of Jesus’ arrest, He is betrayed, denied, tried and insulted. The next day He dies a cruel death, but two days later He rises from the dead, ending death’s tyranny for ever.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Before Jesus’ second coming, the love of many will wax cold and lawlessness will appear to triumph. But Christ will return in all His glory, establishing forever His Kingdom.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Can you see a pattern? There are people at Salem with problems. Perhaps you are caught in a nasty predicament as you read this. God will save, God will rescue, but He often affords the darkness time to mature and intensify before His dazzling brightness and outstretched arm gives us the victory.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning!

Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay