Joy Comes In the Morning
No matter what kind of mood you may find yourself in, the bible has something to say about it, especially in the book of Psalms. For the record, if you’re looking for something warm and fuzzy to stir up the emotion of your choosing, Leviticus just doesn’t come highly recommended. To do lists, yes. Comfort, no.
God brought this verse to my mind the other night as I was praying:
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:1-5)
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Without a doubt. I think of passion and compassion with this verse. I think of prayer and I think of what it means to care so much about something or someone that in the act of submitting our requests to God we end up begging for His mercy, help and forgiveness. These are the prayers that bring us to the inner courts of God. These are the prayers that can move the mountains in our lives. These are the prayers that bring joy when the God’s timing has come to pass.
Why then, don’t we pray like this all of the time? Why don’t we always pray as if our very lives and the lives of our loved ones depended upon it? I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, it all boils down to time and energy. It is a sacrifice to sow with tears. It is a sacrifice of time because it takes awhile to put away all of the day’s distractions to come into God’s presence and it is a sacrifice of strength as well. It is emotionally draining to pray with that kind of passion. It is worth it, but it is draining.
So when does the joy come? Some time after the praying. God is the only one who knows that answer exactly. However He does tell us that joy will come.
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
Joy comes in the morning (maybe not always the next morning) just as sure as the sun rises each and every day. We can be joyful in our knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us…joyful in knowing that we are forever loved by the Creator of the universe and that He has everything under control. In this we can rejoice and have hope.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his passions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:21-26)
thank you for this. i am definitely sowing in tears and trusting that i will reap in joy!!
Oh Janna,
It is emotionally draining to pray with that kind of passion. It is worth it, but it is draining….. This is so very true. Effort and time and tears… Oh but when the morning dawns. What strength, hope, fearlessness.
I love this passage you selected. Awesome. Thank you.
Oh, How I love this verse and many times held on to it’s promise for dear life. Many years later I searched for the words of this Psalm to bring me comfort as I prayed for my adult children. To know that anger , tears and frustration can be turned into peace and joy by crying out to God gave me permission to do so.
I believe that when we hold those thoughts and feelings in and not lay them before our heavenly Father, therein lies the darkness. Bringing our darkest fears out into the light only serves to give us new vision of hope knowing that out tears will bring joy in the light of day.
Very nice post Janna! That passage in Lamentations is one of my all-time favorites!
I think that contentment is the secret to experiencing joy when we have trials (http://tinyurl.com/5jvp4w) and pain is something that needs to be expressed in a healthy way and not rationalized (http://tinyurl.com/4ldczg).
Blessings, Bob
I think you are right Janna. That kind of fervent prayer is hard. I think, too, that there is a deep, abiding joy that comes when we know we have placed our trust in Him and He will work things together for our best.
Amen…Joy does come in the morning. Oh how many nights I have been distraught by loneliness and God turned it into joy.
This was really lovely, bless you.
Hm – maybe I should start praying like you have mentioned…maybe a night prayer walk would help…
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom, Janna….
I agree with you Jana about this, wow what a reminder 🙂
Great post . . . often I think one of the best things we can do for someone is pray for them with all our heart.
Rachel
I love this post Janna, it’s just what I need for this moment.
thanks for verse, keep it up