Waiting on the Morning!!

Last night I was determined to go to bed early because it always seems like the minute I close my eyes and get in that deep sleep, the alarm goes off or I hear one of the girls crying or calling my name. I’m always so excited at Day Light Savings Time in the fall when the time goes back. I think to myself “one more hour of sleep for me!” But then the alarm still refuses to be on my side… It’s just amazing how quickly the morning comes. But when you are going through a stormy time in your life, whether it’s physically, financially or spiritually, the night feels like it goes on forever, doesn’t it?

As I have gone through 2011, God has taken me on a journey. He’s allowed some things to happen that I never imagined for myself both good and not so good. At times, the journey has been extremely lonely and at others I’ve felt my “great cloud of witnesses” as Hebrews 12:1 refers to, cheering me on. Even as I’ve been moving forward, the devil has been on the attack and I’ll tell you, the night has seemed mighty long this year. But God keeps drawing me to Psalm 30:5b “…weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning!” Is anybody else waiting on the morning?

Sometimes people assume that because you serve God that your life should be easy. For some reason, they think that you don’t ever go through anything. But God never promised us that this life of serving Him would be easy. People will talk about you. Your family may condemn you and the enemy will definitely attack you.  As a matter of fact, Jesus reminds us in John 15:20 that ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Times will not always be easy.

But today I want to remind you, that even if you are in the midst of a storm, to praise God right now for the morning. Psalm 30:5 is not a conditional statement. He didn’t say weeping may endure for a night and joy might come in the morning. NO! He say joy COMES in the morning! Its coming, friends! We just have to hold on. My uncle has told me on more than one occasion that ‘the night is always darkest before the dawn.’ So if it seems like everything is coming against you and you can’t even imagine a way out, remind yourself that your morning is on the way!

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 in The Message Bible ministered to my spirit this morning and I hope it does something for you. It says, “So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.”  Isn’t that good news?!

There are good times coming, my friends! Keep pressing forward with joy! When you feel down, get into the presence of the Lord through the Word or praise and worship. Psalm 16:11 says in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. When the enemy brings his best shot, declare Hebrews 10: 39, “But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” We will win, family!

I don’t know about you but I’m excited about my morning! Joy comes in the morning! New mercies come in the morning! God awakens my ears to listen and be taught morning by morning! Psalm 5:3 says “In the Morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation!” So, I encourage you today to look towards your morning with excitement and expectation.

Make this your prayer today, "God, I ask that you restore everything in the morning that was lost at midnight! In the name of Jesus!"  AMEN