Joy Comes in the Morning

A good friend asked me this past week about how I’ve seen God working in this specific period of time - this time that has produced fear and panic in so many.  While I had thought about it some, I hadn’t really given it the thought it deserved.  How is God working in my life and in those around the world?  

Two passages came to mind as I thought about fear.  The first was Psalm 30.  While I won’t write it all here, please read it!  David’s psalm is written after he has experienced a trial, something that was unexpected and uninvited.  Yet, through this trial, he learned that God deserves all our praise.  In verse two, he remembers that he cried out to Him, and He not only heard, but He healed. 

Jumping to verse six in that chapter, David mentions prosperity. He believed that he would never be brought low again because of all that God had done in his life.  Yet, God used that circumstance to show him that even in plenty, his hope was not entirely in the right place.  God hid his face from David, and David despaired.

However, God didn’t leave him there.  In verse 11, David says, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (emphasis added).  The restoration of David’s “normal life” did not allow him to simply forget what God had done, like he previously had.  He felt the need to forever give glory to God.

The second passage that came to mind was in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18.  Again, I won’t write out the passage, but please read along!  Paul had just finished describing how dwelling in the glory of the Lord transforms us (another great passage!) and because of this, we do not lose heart.  We are able to see the truth and are not blinded by what the god of this world wants us to see.  From here, Paul begins telling us that we have a treasure inside us.  While we are fragile, we are vessels (containers) that are being used by God to show others His surpassing power.  Think about that for a moment.  God uses that light, that treasure we have in our hearts to point others to Himself.  How humbling is that?  How amazing is that opportunity?

He goes on and describes how they are afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down in every way, yet they are not crushed, in despair, forsaken, or destroyed.  That is the power of Christ within us.  So, we do not lose heart.  We are being renewed in Christ every morning. 

Verse 17 and 18 says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal,” (emphasis added).  This virus, or rather, the effects of this virus, are things that are very much seen by all today.  Yet, Christ calls us to Himself.  He asks us to look at Him.  He is our strength.  He is our hope.  He is our joy.

As David writes in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  Joy is the opposite of fear.  Let others see that joy inside you.  Let that treasure that is inside you shine for all to see. 

To answer my friend’s question, I see God calling His children back to Himself.  I see Him asking for us to slow down and renew our trust in Him.  I see Him calling us to show others that bright light of Christ, so that they might be rescued from fear and turn to joy.