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.

Christmas all Year Long

Tis that most wonderful time of the year. We are in the midst of what has become known as the Christmas season. It is a time of peace on earth and good will toward men, just ask anyone in retail. It is a time of confused celebration and traditions that have questionable origins. Even the time of the celebration of the Lord's first advent comes from Constantine's desire to somehow blend Christianity with the solstice celebration. The Scriptures give us no definitive time of the Savior's birth but it was not December 25th. More likely the spring time so some find the celebration unseemly. They have a feeling of pride that they reject this holiday and all of it's pagan roots and traditions. I have written before that celebrating the birth of the Savior seems like a good thing. It is a good thing to remember that John 3:16 is true. God did did love the world and did give His only begotten Son so we could believe and have life eternal. That, in and of itself, is a reason to bring God praise and a cause for celebration.

One of the common marks of the Christmas season is that of giving. We buy gifts to exchange and little things to tuck in those stockings hung with care. Thanks to Samaritan's Purse, many now give shoe boxes filled with fun stuff so children around the world can experience Gods love. We give change to the chilly folks ringing the bell outside grocery stores and shopping malls so the Salvation Army can spread God's care. We may exchange names as a "Secret Santa" in the place we work. These are all good things. Our God is a giving God. He gives the sun and the rain. He gives life to the fields and brings the harvest. He gives hope and joy and the fruit of His Spirit into the barren lives of His children. He gives comfort to the wounded and forsaken. For those who believe that Messiah Jesus has come, giving is one of the most powerful tools available to reveal the Son of God.

Giving in the simplest and most practical moments of life has multiple benefits and can cause a ripple effect in making the Savior real. For the giver, it is a reminder of God's sacrifice and gift to us. For the recipient there is a little joy added to their lives and a little light to shine into their darkness. I am aware that life is short and that we want to be efficient in the use of what time God has given us. However, maybe we need to remember that it really is God's time given to us. It is really not our own. It is a gift to be shared with others. So perhaps our goal should be to give up that prime parking space and enjoy a brisk walk from the distant parking lots while humming a Christmas carol on the way. It is a time to help someone unload their overloaded cart and then take the cart back to the store. Time to hold open a door, put a dollar in a kettle and smile a lot. take God's time to surprise the person ahead of you in the checkout line and let them go first. Even if their seventy-two items seems to outweigh your seventeen. Ask how their shopping is going. Take note of the contents of the cart and comment on how much someone will enjoy the choices they made. They may be resistant to step ahead of you but you can gently persuade them to take your spot. Imagine the conversation they will have when they share the story at home of how someone put them first. Be the thankful encourager to the retail associate. They really are making your life easier by working that day. Watch their countenance change when you express your gratitude for being there and wish them a Merry or Blessed Christmas. I for one want to be the story of the kind and grateful customer when they get home rather than the irritated, grumpy demanding one. All five of my children and my wife have worked retail. My wife and daughter still do. I get to hear the stories of the outrageous and demanding people who set out to ruin their day. However, I also hear of the kind, patient and pleasant folk who appreciated them for their help. Which one does God want you to be?

Whether you enjoy the season or are somewhat offended by the questionable roots and history that surrounds this time of year, the celebration should not rob you of the opportunity to let some light shine in the darkness. Take a queue from Linus and read the account from Luke chapter two and let this be what Christmas is all about. You can read it again in April when the event is more likely to have occurred. In fact you could read it once a month just as a way to refresh the wonder of Messiah's arrival and the joy it brought to simple shepherds just outside Bethlehem. We could actually celebrate Christmas everyday of the year. Always being giving to those around us. Always offering a helping hand to the guy trying to tie a mattress onto his Prius outside of Sam's Club or hep the woman with her seventy-five pound bag of kitty litter. Philippians 2:3 gives us the plan, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Putting others first. That is what the Lord did for us. Remember the story? He left the glories of heaven and took on the form of a child. Born to a poor young woman in a stable there in Bethlehem. No glitz, no glory, just a few shepherds reporting a multitude of the heavenly host singing, "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward men". It really is good news of great joy for all people. A joy we can share all year long by simply giving others the gift of being more important than ourselves. Humble service when we shop, when we drive, when we park our cars, when we hold a door or help the little league youngster with a $20 donation as we leave the grocery store and watch their eyes light up. The joy of Christmas giving can be ours every day of the year. 

Got Joy? or What, Me Worry?

Got joy? Joy can be a bit hard to grasp and is often misunderstood. Even the translators of the Biblical text are not sure how to express the word. Is it happiness or contentment or some euphoric feeling that comes from the Spirit's presence? Joy is an important element in our relationship with the Lord and with our walk with Him. It should be evident in our lives. After all if you have a personal relationship with the God of the universe and His Son, who gives you abundant eternal life, there is reason to be joyful. Yet for many believers it remains a bit of a mystery and perhaps a little illusive. Yet, I am convinced that Yahweh wants me to experience a joy filled life. So what do we do when we find ourselves feeling pretty joyless? Well, if we look at a few Scriptures we can learn a few things about Joy and even the cure for Joylessness. 

I Peter 1:8 says, "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory". It Seems even Peter has a little problem with joy. For he says that those who believe are to rejoice or express joy that cannot be expressed. Is that really helpful? To express the inexpressible? Joy is to be apart of who we are. It is more than happiness. It is a sense of contented peace and satisfaction in knowing the One true God and His Son. Even in times when happiness is void, joy is to be ours. Habakkuk 3:17-18,  "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." The prophet indicates that joy is not dependent on what we possess but on the confidence we have in the God who is in control. Even with lack of food there can still be joy if our hearts are knit to the one who simply is good. For God is good all the time. He is worthy of praise and rejoicing all the time. We should know and experience His joy all the time for joy is grounded in who He is not how we feel at the moment.

The simple truth is the closer I am and walk with the LORD YAHWEH the more joy I will come to experience. Yet, there are time when joy seems to allude me What do the scriptures say is the disease that robs me of joy and leaves me joyless? David gives us some clues to the cure in the Psalms. Psalm 132:16 ""Her priests also I will clothe with salvation, And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy."  God's priests, which according to 1 Peter 2:9 we are, have been clothed with salvation and her Godly ones, oh there is the issue, Godly ones, sing aloud for joy. You have to be one of His Godly ones or the joy may not be there. See how David felt in Psalm 51:12 " Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." David had sinned. He was no behaving as one of God's holy ones. He had not lost his salvation but the joy was gone. Disobedience simply takes away the joy we are intended to experience. Sin breaks our fellowship with God and others and until that is taken care of the joy honestly be gone. For we are not trusting in or resting in the God who bought us. The false joy of the prodigal does not last very long. Only repentance and return to the contented satisfaction of trust and obedience can allow true joy to blossom once again.

However, even when we take David's prescription we may not feel all that joyful. In fact we may feel pretty lousy. God's people did and Nehemiah had to tell them to get past the feelings and rejoice. God's people knew they had sinned and so they repented and wept over their sin. However, they could not seem to get beyond that. Nehemiah 8:9-10 " This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.' For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Life without joy is a life without God's strength. If you are honest with yourself lack of joy sucks life from you. It makes you feel weak and even sickly.

Joyless people are either in some sort of disobedience or moping about sin already forgiven, which is really an affront to the God who forgave. Like, somehow His forgiveness isn't enough. Our standards are higher than His so we will continue to morn over what God has forgiven. That is not a humble heart that is more like pride, we just don't want to be honest about it. "I know God has forgiven me but I just can't forgive myself." How remarkably arrogant that really is. Take note, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. God is resisting those who hold that attitude. Is it any wonder folks like this have no real joy? Psalm 30:5 "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." God does get angry over our sin, we repent, His grace is extended for life, we repent and weep in the darkness. But joy returns with the light of our returning to His presence. We can know the return of His joy.

So do you want to know the deep satisfaction and contentment that comes from the Lord? To taste that joy that Peter says is inexpressible? Then take David's prescription. Walk holy. Stay ever so close to the Lord. I believe there are two things that often keep believers in a mediocre and joyless existence. They either dabble in disobedience and do not hunger and thirst for the righteousness that can only be found in a real commitment to know God's Word. Or they have determined to set a standard higher than the Lord's and "Can't forgive themselves" or perhaps someone else. Pride, sin and distance from the Shepherd, who longs to give you joy and rest for your soul, is a sure joy killer. 

The prescription is available, live rightly, live humbly, and repent quickly when we stray. The only question remaining is will we take the cure so we can know His inexpressible joy.