Joy…sweet, sweet JOY

Joy…sweet, sweet JOY

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 (NIV)

I can’t even begin to count the number of times that verse has gotten me through some of my many sleepless, tear-stained nights.

I just love repeating over and over again that weeping may come for a night, but joy comes in the morning. It is one of the promises that God gives us that I hold so dear.

Speaking of which, I don’t know about you, but I have always found it remarkable that the Bible has a Word for every situation that goes on in our lives. To know that someone else in the Bible was going through what I am/was going through and that God felt the experience so significant that He knit these words together in their heart to give us as an instruction manual is for lack of a better word…astonishing. That is why I love the Bible so much because it really is just people, like you and I, traversing through life, the ups and the downs, who have learned life lessons along the way from God about peace, love, comfort and JOY.

Let me just share that I love the gift of JOY so much, because simply I love being happy. Next to peace, at least to me, there is no greater gift than joy because when the trials of life get so hard that they leave me in absolute brokenness, I love that I can look to the new day with the expectancy of joy and know that as a child of the Most High God, it is mine.

I don’t know about you, but I know that I talk to God all of the time. I tell Him all my heartaches and pains. At night, if my heart is troubled over something and I can’t sleep, I reach for my Bible and hold it as if I am holding onto Jesus. And as I lay there and talk through pain and tears, I feel Him speaking into my spirit the promises of His Word. He reminds me that again and again that JOY, His sweet, perfect JOY comes in the morning and that this too (this trial) shall pass. And then He reminds me that those who sow in tears will reap a harvest that is full of joy and singing (Psalm 126:5).

Suffice to say, I get excited when hearing these promises spoken to me and am glad for those assurances because sometimes I just need to know that it is okay for me to stop crying and start rejoicing instead.

Does it mean that what is troubling me has gone away? In most cases, it doesn’t. But I do know now that I don’t have to wallow in the pits of despair forever; I can claim and start to live in the fullness of JOY that God has for me and welcome morning with opened arms.

I hope you will too!

Giver of Peace and Joy, I thank You for these gifts. Father, they are both are treasures that I hold dear and I thank You for them. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

-Nina Fortson