Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5b (ESV)
Hope is such a beautiful thing and yet it is often the one thing we forget about in the midst of trials, hardships, and sufferings. When we are struggling, it often feels like we are alone in the dark, isolated from the rest of the world. We are apt to just sit in our pain and bemoan our situation, letting the roots of despair take hold. The darkness often feels so incredibly strong and oppressive. So much so that we lose hope. We lose hope in ever seeing and experiencing relief. We begin to believe that our weeping will not just tarry for the night, but that the night may never end. Yet, the Psalmist reminds us that the night will not always be as it is. Morning will come. And the coming of the morning brings joy. Joy and hope in the Lord.
I find myself thinking and believing these same irrational thoughts about the night of suffering and hardship. It is hard to be in that place where my weeping is tarrying with the night, because the night can often seem so extended and unending. The pain and hurt that afflicts me is often so strong and intense that it draws my full attention. It sucks me into my own private world where I can commiserate and brood on my situation. It steals the joy of the Lord from me.
I love that the Psalmist is a realist in that he doesn’t try to explain away the pain or the hurt. He is encouraging me to embrace my emotions and let them affect me and bring me to tears. He is telling me it is ok to weep in the middle of the hurt and the pain. It is ok to struggle. Yet, I must never lose sight of hope.
For no matter how long the night may tarry and with it weeping, there will be joy in the morning. It’s not wishful thinking that the morning may come. There is no doubt that morning will come and the night of suffering, hurt, and pain will dissipate and give way. The morning will arrive and with its arrival, there will be joy. Joy in the Lord.
For me, I want this to affect me in one specific area. My initial instinct is to think of this as black or white, day or night, but I want to think of it more as a sunrise. The night is dark. Pitch black at times. It’s unnerving to be in complete darkness. Yet, in complete darkness I can fully take in that first ray of sunlight. That first cresting of the sun breaking through the darkness to announce itself. It’s a powerful image to contemplate. The full experience of a sunrise is what the Psalmist is talking about here. The movement from weeping and without hope, the progressive revelation of hope and joy in the Lord.
I can imagine myself sitting on the edge of a cliff looking out over the land before me covered in darkness. Everything looks dull and lifeless. It all seems so bleak and miserable. There is no detail, only darkness obscuring my view. Then the sunrise breaks through and I begin to see glimpses of the surrounding landscape. I see the outline of trees and hills. The brighter and more full the sun rises, the more clarity and definition I see in the world.
The hope I have in Christ is like this. Yes, there will be times when I feel shut off from Christ and it will all seems so dark and bleak, but there will be morning. There will be a sunrise. There is yet hope. Even in the darkness of my private world, the light of Christ is still shining. I may not be able to see it at the moment, but it is just over the hill. And when it crests that hill it will wash over me and bring the warmth of his loving embrace to me.
So even as I weep in the tarrying darkness, I will not lose hope. I know that my Savior loves me and that even though he tarries at times, the morning will come. He will arrive. He will bring his warm embrace into my heart and revive me once again.