Day 53 with David: Joy comes in the morning.

“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It seems that everything is worse at night. You can be experiencing some physical discomfort during the day—and just like clockwork—it seems that with the darkness comes an intensification of the pain. Any parent knows that at night a sick child seems to suffer more (and so does your sleep). You can be worried about things in the daytime, but the stillness of night intensifies anxiety, sometimes to the level of panic or terror.

When I was a little girl I did not like nighttime. I don’t think this is unusual of children, as a matter of fact, for children, fear of the night is ubiquitous. I can remember praying for the sun to rise, praying for morning to come; with the light of day it seemed that everything was better.

Living in a modern world allows us to “cheat” the night by the use of electricity. We can also synthesize the hubbub of the day by leaving a TV on. Even so, the phenomenon still exists that things seem to “close in” on us with the darkness.

The Bible has many references to the fear often accompanying darkness. One of my favorite passages along these lines actually references the yearning of the soul for the Lord as a watchman waits for the daylight.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭130:5-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

To really appreciate this reference, we must consider that in Bible times, there was no electricity, no city lights; at night it was pitch dark. In that context, think of the soldier assigned to guard a city wall or entrance. There he would be, with maybe a couple of torches, not knowing from which direction some foe might try to waylay him in hopes of attacking the city.

Another one of my favorite scriptures about the dread of night’s specters, references the fact that we need not fear those things found in the darkness:

“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:5-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our opening portion from Psalms today brings another of my most favorite references concerning trouble at night. In this psalm David is talking about the fact that he had called out to the Lord and was delivered from his enemies. He further notes that even though at times the Lord disciplines us, it’s nothing compared to the lifetime of favor we experience from Him. And then there’s those words I have quoted to countless numbers of people, a countless number of times (one of those people being myself): “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

As we have referenced many times, David had been a shepherd. I’m sure he spent many restless nights tending a small fire in an effort to ward off predators after the flock.

David also knew what it was like to run for his life with no safe place to stay. I can imagine the long nights he spent wondering whether it would be his last, wondering whether he would be slain at the hands of Saul, Absalom, or a host of others.

Life can close in on you. You may feel that you’re in the middle of the night even at high noon. But remember: there is no night to the Lord.

In another of David’s psalms he comments on the fact that the Lord’s ability to see and help us is unaffected by the darkness:

“If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

No matter what you’re going through, no matter how dark it may seem, remember, God’s light can shine into your heart, dispelling all of the night’s sorrows, and bringing the hope of the morning.

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

Joy comes in the morning.

#100dayswithdavid