Joy Comes In The Morning

God never promised us a rose garden.

Wait a minute. On second thought, maybe He did. Along with every rose comes thorns, which bring pain in the midst of the beauty. The pain caused by the thorns co-exists with the beauty of the rose. God’s promise to us is that in the midst of the struggle, His joy, His grace and His peace are with us. Pastor Nate talked about this in Sunday’s message when he shared how joy lives alongside negative emotion.

In Psalm 30:1-5, the Psalmist writes,

“1 I will exalt you, Lord,

   for you lifted me out of the depths

   and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,

   and you healed me.

3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

   you spared me from going down to the pit.

4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;

   praise his holy name.

5 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.”

Jesus warned us that we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33). We will not always experience positive emotions. Fear, sadness, anger, frustration, anxiety and doubt will always be in conflict with what God wants for us. The good news is that every time we turn to Jesus, we find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. They are the reward of having the Holy Spirit at work in us. As the Psalmist tells us in verse 5, negative emotions are temporary, but God’s favor lasts a lifetime.

We will face trials, but take heart, regardless of what we are up against, in Christ, joy always comes in the morning.

Pastor Ken

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