Kingdom Building

July 3, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 30

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning..  –Psalm 30:4-5

One of my mentors from many years ago shared a story in a presentation she made that has stuck with me. Her husband was ill and in the hospital. A pastor friend of the family who was out of state heard of the illness and called to express concern. My friend’s daughter took the call and relayed that her mother was at the hospital. He said, “Just tell her I called and tell her, ‘Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.’” The daughter very carefully reported the call to her mother telling her not to cry because someone named Joy was going to see her in the morning. Of course, Joy did not show up although the husband was much better, and my friend never got the gist of the message until her pastor friend returned home and shared again the quote from Psalm 30 with which my friend was well acquainted. I am sure her daughter now knows it well also as they had several good laughs about this incident.

Sometimes an unplanned and innocent good laugh is just what the doctor order in times of worry and concern or even grief. And more times we need all to remember that many of the things we fret about or even get angry about should never become the substance of our lives burning our energy that may be needed elsewhere.

Prayer: God of Joy, help us remember that you are always with us and will sustain us through any valleys we may walk. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.