Pastor’s Point
November 2026
Joy Comes In The Morning
"Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt
secure, I said, 'I will never be shaken.' Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but
when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 'What is gained
if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord,
and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.' You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and
clothed me with joy, that my tongue may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you
forever." Psalm 30:4-12
Before we hurry to the morning, notice that the psalmist doesn't hurry past the night. He says, "when you hid
your face, I was dismayed." He cried out. He asked hard questions. If you are walking through the valley today,
if you have lost someone you love, you may feel tears, anger, even abandoned by God. Those feelings are real,
and Scripture doesn't scold you for them. God can hold your honest cry.
"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." We often hear that verse as a timeline:
first the grief, then the grief gives way to joy. And there is comfort in that.
But here is another way to see it. For the Christian, joy is not only what shows up when the sorrow ends. Joy is a
constant state of being, a gift that belongs to us in Christ. In the valley we may not feel it, and that's all right. But
it hasn't left.
Think of the dawn. The dawn doesn't bring the sun. It shows us the sun. It was there all night, even when we
couldn't see it. Morning doesn't create joy. It reveals what was there all along. And that's how it is with God's
presence. In the darkest hour, when we felt forsaken, he was there. Morning is when we remember his promise:
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." He is always with us, and morning reminds us of that. Like
his presence, joy was there all along.
So we don't have to pretend the tears aren't there. Through the tears, we remember that he loves us. And he has
promised something more. In Revelation 21:4 he says, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be
no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Even these tears. He
will wipe away even these tears one day.
And here is the hope I want you to carry today: the pain of separation points to the hope of reunion. The ache
you feel is the measure of your love, and in Christ that love is not the end of the story. We grieve, but not as
people without hope.
Lord, you know the night some of us are in. You know the tears, and the anger, and the questions we hardly dare
to say out loud. Thank you that you are not afraid of them. Thank you that you have never left us, even when we
couldn't feel you. Let the morning remind us of your promise, and let your joy, which was there all along, rise in
us again. Hold these families close. Wipe our tears in your time, and bring us to the day of reunion.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
November 2026
Joy Comes In The Morning
"Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt
secure, I said, 'I will never be shaken.' Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but
when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 'What is gained
if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord,
and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.' You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and
clothed me with joy, that my tongue may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you
forever." Psalm 30:4-12
Before we hurry to the morning, notice that the psalmist doesn't hurry past the night. He says, "when you hid
your face, I was dismayed." He cried out. He asked hard questions. If you are walking through the valley today,
if you have lost someone you love, you may feel tears, anger, even abandoned by God. Those feelings are real,
and Scripture doesn't scold you for them. God can hold your honest cry.
"Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." We often hear that verse as a timeline:
first the grief, then the grief gives way to joy. And there is comfort in that.
But here is another way to see it. For the Christian, joy is not only what shows up when the sorrow ends. Joy is a
constant state of being, a gift that belongs to us in Christ. In the valley we may not feel it, and that's all right. But
it hasn't left.
Think of the dawn. The dawn doesn't bring the sun. It shows us the sun. It was there all night, even when we
couldn't see it. Morning doesn't create joy. It reveals what was there all along. And that's how it is with God's
presence. In the darkest hour, when we felt forsaken, he was there. Morning is when we remember his promise:
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." He is always with us, and morning reminds us of that. Like
his presence, joy was there all along.
So we don't have to pretend the tears aren't there. Through the tears, we remember that he loves us. And he has
promised something more. In Revelation 21:4 he says, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be
no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Even these tears. He
will wipe away even these tears one day.
And here is the hope I want you to carry today: the pain of separation points to the hope of reunion. The ache
you feel is the measure of your love, and in Christ that love is not the end of the story. We grieve, but not as
people without hope.
Lord, you know the night some of us are in. You know the tears, and the anger, and the questions we hardly dare
to say out loud. Thank you that you are not afraid of them. Thank you that you have never left us, even when we
couldn't feel you. Let the morning remind us of your promise, and let your joy, which was there all along, rise in
us again. Hold these families close. Wipe our tears in your time, and bring us to the day of reunion.
In Jesus' name, Amen.