Joy comes in the morning, but that doesn’t mean this morning or tomorrow morning.
Psalm 30: 5
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Have you ever waited for morning to arrive?
I’ve been considering the life of Sarah for the past few weeks. She knew a lot about waiting, didn’t she?
I told my daughter over coffee, “I am probably more like Sarah than I’d like to admit.”
I can recall those younger years of motherhood when I would take multiple pregnancy tests just waiting to see those pink lines announcing that God had placed a gift in my womb.
There were seasons between children that seemed so long, but nothing like Sarah’s wait.
After living for 80 years barren, God spoke a promise to Sarah that she would have a child.
If it were me, I would have been taking a pregnancy test as soon as I went back to my tent.
I can’t even imagine what she must have been thinking month after month passed with no child. In fact, it was ten years before she would hold the child she had been promised.
Why?
Why wouldn’t God wait to tell her of His promise or hurry the promise into existence?
One of the things I’ve learned in life is that God’s work isn’t just the exclamation of each promise but it’s also in the commas of life, the pauses, the ellipsis of waiting for what’s next.
It’s in these moments when Sarah found herself in-between the promise spoken and the promise held that she grew weary.
I can see myself doing the same thing (just a lot sooner than she did!).
I can picture the conversations I’d have with myself. The thinking that I must have misunderstood what God meant or God must have wanted me to do something to help him.
I can’t count the times I’ve traded God’s best for my best all in the name of “helping” God.
God’s timing is typically not our timing.
Without an eternal perspective, we can grow discouraged waiting for the promise to arrive.
I am convinced, that just because we become tired of waiting for His promises, doesn’t make the promises any less real. Even when we forget the promises, God remains faithful to His promises. He will unveil His promises in His timing and for His glory.
The morning will come.
I’ve had those seasons of life where I’ve grown weary waiting.
I would tell myself it’s better thinking of something else than to wake every morning expecting the promise to appear only to be disappointed once again.
I’ve grown tired (no wholly exhausted) waiting for Salvation to come to my home, hoping for healing, praying for relationships restored, searching for Truth, and longing for His revealed promises.
Through the years, I’ve learned that it’s in this waiting, this ellipses of life, that God is doing something magnificent in me. I can honestly say, I am not the same person. Those journeys to His promises transformed me. I wonder if Sarah felt the same way about her journey of waiting for the promise of Isaac.
Joy comes in the morning.
When I read the Scriptures, I get a birds-eye view of the journey from promise to promise. As I flip from chapter to chapter, it’s easy to forget that some, like Sarah, waited years to see the promise manifested. Time does not change the validity of His promises. Each promise was made complete at the exact moment God ordained.
Personally, I have witnessed Joy arrive, and more glorious than I ever imagined. Multiple times in my life, I have seen God’s promises revealed. Yet, not once, can I recall witnessing it appear on my timeline. Reminding myself of this fact gives me hope to wait on the Lord again and again and again.
Have you ever felt that way too?
Have you been waiting for the morning dawn to appear?
Let’s remember to wait on the Lord. Let’s learn from Sarah that God doesn’t need our “help” (really!), and we certainly don’t need the hardships that come from orchestrating wannabe promises in our strength.
Wait on the Lord:
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:
Wait, I say, on the Lord.
Friends, Joy is coming!
Until our next chat,