Life can have its moments.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Hickory Jack)
“We should like you, our brothers, to know something of what we went through in Asia. At that time we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end.”
–2 Corinthians 1:8 (Phillips)
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Tears, we all have them, from the days of childhood when a toy was broken or we felt the hand of a parent on the backside, there were tears. On into the teenage years and there are tears of sorrow, of young love, of broken relationships. Then through the years of adulthood, parenting, seeing loved ones depart across the Great Divide; these all brought tears.
Some people cry in an instant. I’ve had many students sit before me with crocodile tears. I remember one student who would come to my office, and I would let her cry. After a few minutes of that, I barked at her, “That’s enough.” She cut them off, and never shed another one. There are those people who find it difficult to shed a tear, but inside the tears are flooding the heart. General Eisenhower said that he reserved his tears for his pillow. They were private and not to be shown to the public. There are catastrophes that may strike us, especially in areas where we felt the strongest that may produce grief and despair, and we feel cut off from God.
“All through the night I wept full sore,
But morning brought relief.
That hand, which broke my bones before,
Then broke my bonds of grief.”
–Charles H. Spurgeon
This morning let’s take a look at Psalm 30:1-5 (HCSB). This portion is a psalm about tears.
1 – I will exalt You, Lord, because You have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me.
2 – Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
3 – Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down to the Pit.
4 – Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name.
5 – For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.
Here, David praised the Lord that he was not vanquished. The Lord was there for him in his time of need and despair. I like verse one from the NIV, “I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.” We need not despair, our enemies will not be there to gloat over us. They will not stand and point a finger and sneer at us, for the Lord will lift us up. No matter how deep a hole we have fallen into the Lord will reach down to lift us up.
In one aspect when we think of night we think of the darkness and the unknown that may stalk us in the night. But night can also represent, in the spiritual sense, a vanquished foe. Do not despair when we find ourselves in the dark of the night; remember, there is a brighter tomorrow. W. Graham Scroggie said, “At nightfall Weeping comes as a guest to tarry, but in the morning Joy comes to stay.”
Let me ask you, what does the future hold for those who put their faith in the Lord? One thing for sure, when we are in a hole, when we are downcast and darkness looms over us there is hope. Grace becomes more and more important. Perhaps the grace of God cannot be appreciated until you sense a need for it. You may weep, moan, cry, and groan all night in despair. It may seem that all hope is gone and that this calamity you find yourself in will last a lifetime, but look up, redemption draws nigh. There is joy in the morning!