Joy Comes in the Morning

"Weeping may last for the night, 

But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

When we are grieving a loss, the nights seem endless. Lying in our bed in the dark, it's hard to imagine that we will ever smile again. That's how it was for me when my husband Jim died suddenly of a massive heart attack four years ago. Honestly, there were many times that first year of widowhood when I asked God to take me home, too. I've never felt so sad. If it weren't for the Lord's love and faithfulness through the night, I never could have made it to the morning. God does bring joy with the light of day. Sometimes we have to determine to see it, but it is there. It's there when we yield to Him and say, as Job said, "Even if He slays me, I will trust Him." And as we continue to trust God with our grief and with our healing, something wonderful happens. One day we wake up with a "shout of joy".  It is then that we understand the psalmist's words as we never could before. God may allow sorrow into our lives for a time, but He will restore our joy.