Joy in the Mourning

I've been sitting on this Word for about a month now. It's not even that I wasn't sure if y'all would get it. Actually, I knew you all would. It's not even that I was lazy... Okay. Maybe a little. (Yeah.. It has been a minute since my last post).

Honestly, I wanted to write this post when I was actually experiencing ..... joy.

I wanted to write y'all and talk about the storm I'm in and come through the middle of the post and do one of those fancy pictures saying, "BUT GOD."

You know... Kind of like this...

But what I'm experiencing is not over. And most likely, neither is whatever you're going through. Which is probably why this needs to be written now.

Let's be honest... If we all waited until we got the blessing we thought we were getting to tell people about "how good God is," we'd be a quiet bunch. :)

I won't go into the details of my storm... but let's just say it's a doozy. I stopped drinking. And the very next week (a few days later to be real with you), the attack was on. My boss was trippin'. I wasn't sure who I could trust with my circumstances (at work and at home). And then some unexpected turns in life occurred back-to-back-to-back.

I thought I had an out to better days. Then that fell through.

Go figure - something I was trying to MAKE happen, didn't work. Which is also hilarious (in the utmost not-so-funny fashion), considering I was literally at an Elevation Nights concert singing "JIIIIIIIIREH" at the top of my lungs.

"Jireh... You are enough...." It's cool to sing. It's true in Biblical principle.

But it's hard to lean on in the middle of your life falling apart.

The name of this post comes from a Psalm (30:5 to be exact). "Weeping may endure for the night.. But joy comes in the morning."

I've always be kind of enamored and slightly deceived by this scripture.

Enamored because of the relief the verse presents and promises.

Deceived, because I always read that message as a "next-day" fix.

Joy comes... in the morning! Right... Like, tomorrow!

Cool, I can endure weeping for a night. (It only said "a night," right?)

But what do we do when the weeping endures for a few nights?

A week?

A while.....?

What do we do when the morning, seems more like a permanent state of mourning?

Something I was taught in my earlier stages of adulthood as this...

"READ THE ENTIRE SCRIPTURE.... not just the sexy parts"

Before and after we read about "joy in the morning," we walk with the Psalmist from one important point to the next. The text is sandwiched between some really solid habits and callouts (or places where we are called in).

Psalm 30:1-4 shows us how the writer has a habit of praise, already in place, about him. Not just a presence of praise, but an intentional act of remembering.

Not only do we see where the Lord is exalted, we are brought into where He has "lifted" David before.

"I cried to You for help, and You healed me." - Psalm 30:2

A few lines down we read right before joy is favor.

I find it interesting and soooo necessary that as the Psalmist talked about God's favor it is right after discussing His anger. It almost seems out of place, until we remember Grace.

Why is this called to our attention? I think it's because in our humanness we tend to center ourselves in everything. In doing so, we displace who God is for what we are. And these two comparisons are... well, incomparable.

By simply being born and existing, we are sinners. We do things that can anger God often.

However, the same way we cannot earn salvation, we also cannot deserve problems.

God isn't in Heaven going tit-for-tat, as a master retaliator. Even though He can be angered, He does not operate His Kingdom getting back at us for our actions.

In our worst, He is still the best.

Not only is He the best. He's faithful and consistent.

Immediately after our "joy in the morning" verse, I noticed something...

Psalm 30:6, "When I was secure, I said, 'I will never be shaken.'"

Basically, when I was good... I wasn't stressed about anything. I even said, "I will never be shaken."

HAAAAAAA!!! (Never say never...)

It's incredible how secure we are when we are... SECURE.

Then Psalm 30:7 continues "when you hid your face, I was terrified."

Interesting....

We can't ever, literally, see God's face. Not when things are going horribly. Not when they are going well, either. So what's terrifying about not seeing something, we could never see in the first place?

I love Psalms because it shows us the complicated nature of being human. There is a constant back and forth of praise and worry shown by the writer. The same writer who started the chapter recalling how good God is, is the same person who said there will be "joy in the morning."

The same person who a few lines down flips the script AGAIN... and says "Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper."

But we just established that is EXACTLY what the Lord is and was... Gracious.

We do this, too. The tug-o-war in our spirit; the question - trying to figure out "Do I trust God or do I trust my circumstances?"

We battle with believing who God has ALWAYS BEEN is who He truly is.

Shouldn't we find joy in this? That our Father is, was, and forever will be our God.

Our Elohim. Our Creator.

Our Elyon. Our Most High.

Our El Roi. The One Who Sees.

Our Jehovah Ro'i. Our Shepard.

Our Jehovah Shalom. Our Peace.

Our Jireh. Our Provider.

This is not a fully-exhausted list. But there's a reason I chose these specific names of God.

Our Creator, who sits Most High.

Most High isn't just who He is. It's where He sits. And "most high" is an awesome location to see all.

A Shepard who sits "most high" is in the best position to watch after His sheep.

Sheep are often in peace when they can see their Shepard. I don't think sheep even think about their predators, as long as they can see the person who is watching them. One might even say they would have a little... I don't know, PEACE.

(No, I haven't asked one, personally. But I feel certain about this.) :)

Let's piece this all together, and bring it full circle.

Our God, who created us, is watching over us from Most High. He guides us, and His guidance gives us peace. Not only does it bring peace, but He provides for us...

... in EVERY season!!

Y'all... that is the JOY in the MOURNING...

Even when we aren't living life the way we expect to, we have a Father who provides regardless.

When we are sad..HE PROVIDES.

When we aren't certain... HE PROVIDES.

When the storm is really, really coming down... HE STILL REIGNS!!!

Most importantly, He understands.

Do you know what we have now that David didn't? Jesus.

And without the existence of Jesus, David still had faith that God was going to keep being God. He knew joy would come in the morning, and he didn't even have a Savior who died for his sins...

What are you experiencing today, that you wish would get better tomorrow?

What are you experiencing now, that maybe you should give God a little bit more credit with?

What JOY are you denying yourself because the morning does't look the way you thought it would?

Take some time today, and read Psalm 30. (All of it)

I challenge you to think of seven places in your life where you thought "THIS IS IT... I DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO MAKE IT..." But you did.

After you find those spiritual bookmarks, relive the JOY you felt when those things ended up working out. And no, they may not have worked out they way you wanted it to... But they worked OUT!!

Finding joy isn't a game of "Hot/Cold," "Eye Spy," or and Easter egg hunt.

Joy is a decision. One we should make daily, every morning.

Even while we are mourning.