Joy Comes in the Morning

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

How blessed indeed.
Does your soul long for just Him this morning?
What is that deep ache inside?
What is it you so desperately need Him to do for you?

He is coming.

O people in Zion, inhabitants in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer.
He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will answer you.

What have you been crying out to Him for?

Weep no longer.  Lift your tear-stained face to Him,
and let Him wipe it dry, as a father wipes the tears
from the face of his child.

You are precious to Him. Don’t you know?

He heard you long ago, when you first began to plead,
When your heart broke into a million pieces,
and you could not bear the weight of your grief.

He knows how weary your soul is,
that you are sure you cannot take another step.

Dear heart, He is coming.

Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression,
He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself,
But your eyes will behold your Teacher.

How long have you been thirsty, and dry, and hungry?
What thing in your life has been broken, seemingly beyond repair?
Where have you been starving? For love, for peace, for provision?
Are you lonely, desperate for companionship, a listening ear,
someone who understands?

Have you begged and pleaded with Him to intervene, to soften hearts,
to give you some word of wisdom,
of hope, of comfort, and yet – He is silent?

Your ears will hear a word behind,
This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or to the left

Precious one, He will not remain silent forever.
You will look up, and you will see the way.
You will begin to move, and He will say,

“Yes, this is the beautiful way I have made for you.”
You will see His hand in every turn.
You will hear His voice in the soft breeze that blows at your back,
gently nudging you forward,

“Yes, this is My way – the best way. See how I have loved you?
See how I have made every provision for you?
You lack nothing, my child. You lack nothing.”

And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver,
And your molten images plated with gold.
You will scatter them as an impure thing,
And say to them, “Be gone!”

Has the silence been so deafening that you could no longer bear to hear?
Have His answers been so slow in coming, that you have written your own?
Has the loneliness been so unbearable that you have filled your heart
with love that does not satisfy, that has left you empty, broken, bruised?

It is time to lay those things aside and make room.
Make room for His answers in your mind.
Make room for His perfect love in your heart,
for His ministry of healing to your soul.

Take heart, my precious friend.

He is coming.

For He does not condemn – He understands.
He is not angry, nor is He disappointed;
for He knows how fragile your heart is,
how deep your need has been.

He knows how long it has taken for Him to set things up
just right, just so,
so that when He does answer, the answer is glorious –
so glorious, and so beautiful, and so perfect
that your heart cannot help but sing,

“Oh, how my Father loves me!”

Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground
And bread from the yield of the ground,
And it will be rich and plenteous.

And when His answer comes, it will come in abundance.
He will pour out His rain of provision, of love, of companionship,
so perfect, so complete, such a torrent,

That the earth around you will blossom and bud;
Trees will lift their branches to receive the rain;
Birds will sing in your heart, flowers will bloom all around.

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be seven times brighter,
On the day the Lord binds up the facture of His people
And heals the bruise He has inflicted.

I know your heart feels bruised.
I know it seems the Lord has broken you, crushed you,
caused suffering, and pain, heartache and loss;

But believe me when I say, He will not allow one thing
that does not bring you good.
His deepest desire is for you to see Him;

And the darker the night is,
the brighter the morning seems when it comes.

So take heart, my friend – He is coming –
with healing in His wings and a sword in His hand,
to route your enemies, and bind up your wounds,
to exchange laughter for weeping,
and joy for your tears.

And You will have songs in the night
And gladness of heart

For weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

 

References:
Isaiah chapter 30
Psalm 30:5