Morning Joy?

Have you known weeping? Has there been a time in your life that sorrow has felt overwhelming and the darkness impenetrable? As those who believe that God is good and that He delivers us from such times of pain and sorrow we often find comfort in the words of King David, preserved for us in the Psalms.One such psalm, at least one verse or a part of a verse, has found its way into songs, sympathy cards and the folds of our memories. "For His anger, a moment, His favor, life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). David is no stranger to sorrow and weeping. He has know unjust persecution and the death of ones he has loved. He has known God's favor and he will experience God's anger. None of these emotions are foreign to him so he speaks these words from experience. Most of us have been touched by aspects of similar traumas and redemptions. However, we might well question the accuracy of David's poetic claim.

If you have known weeping and sorrow for a night is there a guarantee that relief comes with the dawn? I have sorrows that still rest within the pages of my life. They still manage to rise to the surface at unexpected times. A song, a sunset, a word of Scripture, even a phrase that captures a past moment and resurrects the loss I though had been healed. There are memories shared with a friend where we both change the subject to quench the tear ducts before the liquid sorrow becomes too noticeable. Weeping certainly seems to last more than a night and not every morning feels saturated with joy.

There are a few things to consider as we look to David's words. The psalmist gives us a heads up at the beginning. This psalm was written in celebration of the dedication of David's house, David's dwelling place. After years of being on the run where David's dwelling was more of the rustic variety, living in tents, caves, and within the open wilderness, David now has a home. Actually a palace of sorts. He is the king of a nation of renown. His armies are feared and his prosperity above most nations that are his neighbors. David praises the Lord for His faithfulness and for bringing him up from the pit. David has seen, first hand, the deliverance and salvation of the God of Israel. David knows the morning joy of God's presence.

The Hebrew word translated, "joy", does indeed mean joy, even exuberant joy. It also means to shout or pray. David often uses the word to express his need for God to hear him. Psalm 88:2 is just one among many, "Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry"(emphasis mine). Could it be that weeping endures for a night but prayer or a cry to the Lord comes in the morning? Is David promising short lived weeping and immediate outbursts of joy or a change that moves our focus off of the weeping and onto the One who brings comfort when we cry out to Him? Is God telling us that our weeping is momentary or that a prayer or morning cry out to Him will get us through another day?

I am aware that David is likely making use of the Hebraic poetic use of contrast to help us grasp the wonder and goodness of God. Just as God's anger is short lived while His favor lasts a lifetime, so our weeping may overwhelm us for an evening while something replaces that come dawn. English translations choose joy or rejoicing as the contrasting idea. However, a prayer or cry for comfort is not that far removed. Weeping moving into a cry for God's presence fits as well. It also allows for a time of weeping to become a time of prayer and reflection of God's care and watchfulness, which David expresses in the remainder of Psalm 30. In verse 8 David remembers that he cried out and made supplication to the Lord, verse 10 records David's cry for mercy and for the Lord to be his Helper. 

Certainly, God can turn my mourning into dancing and clothe me with gladness, verse 11. However, even for David, this was not an overnight reality.  We do not sorrow as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13), however, we do sorrow. We do weep over loss, painful situations and for those who have been taken from us. Isaiah tells us that Messiah would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We live in a fallen world where evil, at times, seems to prevail. Loved ones die and suffer with no immediate relief or apparent reason. Messiah understands. We should not pass lightly over the emotion God has designed within us. Weeping may last for a night, however, I suggest you may feel free, as dawn approaches, to cry out with supplication for God's comfort and grace just to get you through another day. If you are not ready to put on your dancing shoes God is not disappointed. His peace will suffice until His joy returns.

I Never Want to "Get Over It"

We live in a world that abounds with comings and goings. The truth is, things in life are subject to change. From the simple things that wear out, like the toaster oven, refrigerator or technology that seems to come and go overnight. These sort of things are fairly easy to deal with. Most of us do not develop a deep meaningful relationship with a blender, though I have known people to get pretty attached to their cars. However, when it comes to people that is a different story. The comings and going of people can be more challenging to deal with. Social media can ease the parting with face-time and Instagram. But, no amount of technology can help when the parting comes through death. Death is a very real part of the lives we live. And with the passing of years it becomes an all too frequent visitor. It is these times of loss that we are called to cope with. We have grief ministries, and stages of grief and reminders that, "Time heals all wounds". Well, maybe time just dulls the pain a little. By the grace of God healing does come, yet the scars may linger longer than we thought possible. Well meaning friends are there to encourage us to move on. To get on with life and, with time, to get over it. Initial grief and sorrow is expected and comfort is readily available. That first anniversary of the passing often comes with comforting words and empathy. However, beyond that we are expected to get past the loss and begin to start fresh. With the Lord's help, of course.

But what if, in some ways, we are not supposed to get over it? What if God has other ideas of what to do with loss? The Apostle Paul tells those in Thessalonica, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). So we are not to sorrow as those who have no hope. Yet, we are allowed to sorrow. We are allowed to fell sadness. And there does not seem to be some set time limit as to how we can feel this way. I do not see a "Well, it's time to get over it. You've felt sad long enough." I am not talking about a debilitating grief that makes us bedridden as we wait to die. There is, or should be, some expected healing from God's Spirit as we cope with the loss. However, deep relationships are replete with abundant triggers of memories and special thoughts of the one who is gone. As believers, we know where our loved one is. We have the hope of the resurrection, we know they would not want us to be consumed with sorrow. However, are we intended to just get over years of special occasions that are special only to the ones who shared the moment?

I for one do not want to get over it. I am past the sorrow of a lost friend, at least for the most part. I have the full comfort of what God has provided. However, there are times when I miss the, "I am so frustrated right now!" phone call. I miss long talks in the parking lot. I miss knowing someone always has my back. I miss Dunkin Donuts conversations, ice cream at Friendly's and knowing he was just around the corner. I don't get sad quite the way I did at first but I never want to become calloused to the memories that somehow keep the friendship alive. We were not designed by God to go through life alone. I am blessed with a loving, remarkable, supportive, wife, and she is cute on top of that. I cannot imagine life without her. I have also been blessed with a number of friendships, some more like brothers than friends. However, I have only been blessed once with the kind of friendship that has been taken from me. I do not want to get over it. It was a special gift and blessing from the Lord. I want to treasure the memories. Be prompted to relive some moments when we laughed, enjoyed some music and were burdened for our children.  I want to celebrate some answers to prayer that we shared before he went home. I want to feel the prompting to pray for his wife and children and grandchildren, just like when he was here.  I am beyond grateful for the years of friendship and having a brother in the Lord that I may never experience again. So, no, I don't want to get over it. I want to treasure it. I want to remember it for even the pain of loss is something we had shared before. He was truly a gift from God. Why would I ever want to get over it?