For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5
I love this promise from Scripture. It is a reminder that there is an end to what we may be going through, that the night will not last forever. It may last for weeks or months or years or even the entirety of our lives, but it will not last forever.
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:8
The Lord has brought Psalm 30:5 to my attention over and over again lately. I just finished reading a book that’s two parts were divided into “Weeping may last for the night” and “Joy comes with the morning.” In the first part, the heroine journeyed with her God-given guides Sorrow and Suffering to the High Places. She learned much from them and learned to find joy in them as she experienced many hardships, difficulties, and temptations. In the second part, she finally reaches the High Places where she is given rest, a new name, and her companions are transformed into Joy and Peace. The Lord was taking her through difficulty in order to transform her into His image. That’s His pattern.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.Proverbs 4:18
Mostly my meditations on the hope and promise of morning have been prompted by a song from Third Day’s new album Miracle called, “Morning Has Broken." It is a very poetical and imagery-inducing song that was written in the ‘70s (see below), and as I listened to the words I couldn’t help but think of this verse. When the morning does come after a long, hard, dark night (Job 7:4), your senses seem to be sharpened, your heart more joyful and thankful, and you seem to be more aware of the presence and goodness of Christ. Your heart seems to be more tuned to sing God's praise. At least this is what I get out of this song and this is what I have experienced. Furthermore, it reminds me of the daily renewed mercies of God:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22
Morning is coming. I don't know when, but it is. And while I get to experience temporary mornings in this lifetime, there will be a day when the morning will come and it will never, ever leave (Revelation 22:5).
Morning Has Broken
Morning has broken, like the first morning Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird Praise for the singing, praise for the morning Praise for them springing, fresh from the world
Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from Heaven Like the first dewfall, on the first grass Praise for the sweetness, of the wet garden Sprung in completeness, where His feet pass
Morning has broken, like the first dawn Sing Hallelujah; A new day is born
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning Born of the one light, Eden saw play Praise with elation, praise every morning God's recreation, of the new day
Morning has broken, like the first dawn Sing Hallelujah; A new day is born
Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3
It’s amazing how life can change in an instant; how one’s world can be shaken in such a way that “normal” becomes something new and different. These few weeks have been the hardest and most painful that I have experienced to date. Death has been the theme. Now, thankfully, I haven’t had to experience that grief, but I have had to face it in both of my parents. It’s a hard reality, and, apart from God’s divine intervention, they are both facing illnesses that will eventually consume them.
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
This verse has been running through my mind since I walked into my parents’ home and saw my mom on December 23rd. We are but a vapor; here today and gone tomorrow. God alone knows the number of days that He has given each of us and sometimes He allows circumstances into our lives to remind us how fragile we really are, how fleeting life is, and to remind us to look to Him, our Hope, Salvation, Deliverer, and Treasure.
I am learning many lessons through this and, I am sure, there are many more to come. The Lord has not been silent, and for that I am very thankful. He has not left me or my family without comfort. It is hard watching those you deeply love struggle and suffer. There have been numerous times that I have walked away from a hospital room, entered a bathroom, and nearly crumbled underneath the weight of what was happening, telling God that I could not do this anymore. And it’s true; I can’t. I have not the strength to face the circumstances that the Lord has allowed into my life, but His grace is sufficient. It is sufficient for cancer. It is sufficient for autoimmune diseases. It is sufficient for unbearable pain. It is sufficient for frustrating doctors. It is sufficient for long days at the hospital. It is sufficient for every single circumstance that I face, and Jesus graciously reminded me of this when I felt I could go no further. He gave me the strength needed for each day, and continues to do so.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
The Lord, in His grace, had been preparing my sister and me for these things. We were learning a lot about suffering and God’s goodness and sovereignty in suffering over the last two years through books and sermons and circumstances. I remember standing with her in the kitchen of our apartment last year discussing what the Lord was teaching us and knowing that He was preparing for something rather hard. Now, I believe, we have arrived at that moment. The Lord is so kind to prepare us like He did; otherwise our reactions to these things would look much different.
During all of this, the Lord has been beckoning me to come to Him. To cast my cares upon Him (Matthew 11:28-30), to rest/abide in Him (Psalm 91; John 15:1-11), to wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31), to place my hope in Him (2 Cor. 4:16-18), and to be still before Him as He glorifies Himself through these things (Psalm 46:10). The Lord has been pleased to use that latter passage (Psalm 46) over and over again. My cousin read it to me, then my friend read it to me, and it was in my devotional readings three days in a row. I think God wants me to learn something here, and I think it is this:
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Psalm 46:1-3
God is my ever-present help. The ESV foot note for “very present help” says that the Hebrew can also be translated “well proved help,” which I love. God is faithful. He is ever present. He is well proved. He never fails. He never forsakes. Even though the earth gives ways, even though my world comes crashing down, I do not need to fear because God is with me. He is Immanuel. He dwells in the midst of His people. He protects (refuge) and provides (strength). Twice the psalmist declares in verses 7 and 11, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” This is why there is no need to fear. This is why there can be joy in sorrow and suffering. God is sovereign over the circumstances (He designs them), He purposes good in them, and He walks with His people during them. If God is for us then who can ultimately be against us?
This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me? Psalm 56:9-11
So in the midst of all the unknown and in all the pain, there is joy and there is hope. There is joy because Christ is with me and because He is working all things for good and because He is going to reveal Himself in new ways to me and my family. There is joy because I am His and He is mine. There is also hope. Now hope is a funny thing. It arises sometimes at the most unexpected times. Hope is not something that you can work up on your own. I am not talking about the kind of hope that is merely optimistic (“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel”) or hope that is blind (“Something will work out; it will get better some day”), but in a hope that is secure, a hope that is rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is a Hope that never fails and never puts to shame.
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
Now I can’t help hoping for brighter days ahead, for more pleasant and joyful circumstances – in restoration. Christ is a restorer. Regarding this there have been two more verses running through my mind and they have become my prayer:
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil. Psalm 90:14-15
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you. Joel 2:25
Ultimately, these verses will be fulfilled when Christ comes to save His people completely and to restore the earth fully (Revelation 21:1-8), so even if things do not get better, I will still have joy and hope in the sorrow and pain.
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Habakkuk 3:17-19
My very dear child, What shall I say! A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands upon our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore his goodness, that we had [your father] so long. But my God lives; and he has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be. Your affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards. [From a letter Sarah wrote to her daughter Esther when she found out that her husband had died from smallpox.Quoted by John Piper in his sermon “Job: Wrestling with Suffering.”]
The last days of 2012 went by in a daze, full of tears and sorrow. Now 2013 is here. I almost cannot believe another year has past. Where has it gone? The Lord’s hand has indeed been heavy during last year’s final months, but He did not leave Himself without witness. In fact, He had been preparing my sister and me for the trials we now face in numerous ways, especially as He taught us about His sovereignty and goodness in suffering. It would be easy to look back of the last year or so and recount the many difficulties and trials the Lord allowed into our lives and I had thought about doing that, but I read a post about the taken-for-granted goodness of God that made me rethink this post. “Where was God in the goodness of 2012?” is what this article asks; I can ask myself the same question.
Where was God when I drove 20,000+ miles without an accident or even a speeding ticket?
Where was God when I ate out almost every weekend and never got food poisoning?
Where was God when I didn’t get the stomach virus my sister had or the numerous other illnesses other people I knew had?
Where was God for all the miles I ran without twisting my ankle?
Where was God in all the times I have walked through dark parking lots without being assaulted?
Where was God in all the times I’ve said the right thing or bit my tongue to not say the wrong thing?
Where was God every time I needed my next breath?
Answer: He was right there. He was reigning in sovereign power and wisdom on His throne. He was providing. He was protecting my coming in and my going out. He was directing my steps. It’s easy to lose sight of all the “smaller” ways that God shows evidences of His grace because we take them for granted. The Word is clear that Christ upholds all things by the word of His power and that every good and every perfect gift comes from Him, so there are many, many reasons to be thankful on a daily basis for God’s abundant goodness and grace. No wonder the Scripture tells us to always be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
There are so many things that I can thank God for as I reflect upon 2012, but there is one thing that stands out the most. And that is that my cousin, in whom I invested and for whom I prayed for 10 years, was saved by Christ. By God’s grace, he went from a life of addictions and rebellion to a life that seeks to please the Lord. And, also by God’s grace, I have spent the last several days of the year watching his zeal and hunger for the Lord grow. He has been a ray of light in the midst of this darkness.
So, as always, I have a choice. I can choose to waste my suffering, waste the hard things the Lord has given me, or I can choose to bow before my Maker and trust Him for His goodness and grace, even though it has been veiled by the present circumstances. Although cancer and infections and illnesses and disappointments and hurtful words are not good in and of themselves, they are designed by Jesus Christ for good, and there is hope in that. He is in control. He is good. He does as He pleases and He pleases to do me good (Jeremiah 29:11). So even though the pain is real and the burdens are heavy, there is joy: the joy that Jesus Christ is with me and He is working in such a way (a way that is often unseen to me) to make me and my family more like Christ and to exalt His name through us. And the truth is that I do not have the strength for these things nor do I even have the strength to make the right choice of focusing on and trusting in Christ through all this, but His grace is sufficient, and when I am weak He is very strong, and He works in me both to will and do the things that please Him. And as I look to the year ahead, Christ is helping me trust Him for His grace. He has good things in store. :)
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower. William Cowper, “God Moves in Mysterious Ways”
