Psalm 30:5 (ESV)
⁵  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.

Times of weeping come upon us all.  Who, reading this blog, has not experienced sorrow in life?  We all have.  Job once said, “Man who is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Perhaps he was feeling a little sorry for himself at the time he said that, but he was not wrong.  Paul wrote the same truth in 2 Corinthians 5:2-5.

It is imperative as Christians that we realize that life is not always going to be easy, even with God by our side.  Sometimes trouble finds us, not in spite of the fact that we serve God, but because of it.  In the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke of being persecuted because of the Word (Matthew 13:21).  From the beginning, Christians have been mistreated, in one way or the other, by the world.  This should not surprise us.  We are serving a Savior that the world hates.  

John 15:18-19 (ESV)
¹⁸  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

On top of being persecuted because of our relationship with the Son of God, there are the trials of everyday life.  We have this in common with every other person in the world.  God has never put His people in a bubble, keeping them from the sorrows and disappoints of this world, nor from the various struggles of life.  He does help us in times of need (Hebrews 4:16), but He allows us to thrash through life like everybody else.   How we handle the rough times of life is a test of our character and commitment to God.

Yes, life can be hard, but do not forget the good news the Psalmist reveals to us.  “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.  Maybe not the very next morning; in fact, many mornings may come and go before we experience relief from our pain, but we must believe that the relief will come.  God has promised it to us.

The true joy that awaits us, is the joy of heaven.  No matter what life brings, salvation will come by and by, and, oh, what salvation it will be.

Romans 8:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Not only will the joy of our salvation be greater than any sorrow we experience in this life, the two are not even comparable.  Our joy will be such that all memory of sorrow will be gone completely.  Jesus said it was so, and we can believe Him!

John 16:21-22 (ESV)
²¹  When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²²  So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.      

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.