Joy will come (Day 4 of the #encourage marathon)

 

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

~ Psalm 30.4-5

It’s Day 4 of our 26-day #Encourage Marathon! (You can read yesterday’s post here.)

Someone out there is in pain. It might even be you.

You might have had a rough day yesterday. Maybe the past six months have been fraught with pain. It could be that years of trouble have mercilessly struck you.

You’re getting tired.

There’s good news. Joy is coming.

Have you ever watched the sunrise in the mornings? Before the sun ever reaches the horizon, there is a gradual lightening of the sky. Slowly but surely, the light increases until, without warning, there is a burst of light from the horizon where the sun has appeared. The western skyline shines effusively as the eastern skyline is all but lost in the radiant glow of the sun. Warm, rosy, colors abound. Warmth creeps into the air. Creatures of the day begin to stir.

In the movies, all the good things happen at once, but in life, the relief from pain comes gradually, like the sunrise, as we draw towards a season of refreshing. I can recall many points in my life in which the unendurable seemed unending. But relief crept in like the rising sun, bringing with it color, warmth, and joy. Before I even realized what was happening, there was both joy and happiness once again.

This race of life is hard, and sometimes it feels like all we do is weep as we run. Praise God in your weeping. Give thanks in all circumstances. Joy will come in spite of it all. And, even if in this life we are given much trouble, there still awaits us joy unspeakable when we stand in the light of His presence for eternity. There won’t be any tear-soaked nights when we reach heaven.

Joy is coming.

Hold to his promises and look towards the horizon. Keep running—relief will come.

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I hope you’ll continue to join me on Facebook, Twitter and here at Elihu’s Corner for this marathon. Share this verse on your Twitter feed or Facebook page (#encourage). Take time today to copy down this verse for yourself. Send an email or text to someone you know who would benefit from this encouragement.

Here is a picture of the verse I copied down yesterday for my own benefit:

[If you click on the link in the above passage, it will take you to BibleGateway.com. From here, you can click a share link which allows you to share directly to Twitter, Facebook or send an email.]

If you missed the original post listing all 26 passages, click here to download the PDF list.