What goes through your mind when you are in a desperate situation or are in a season of suffering, and you cry out to God for help and deliverance, and He does not answer? Do you cry out louder? Do you feel abandoned? Do you despair? Do you think it’s not fair? Underserved? Do you become bitter or angry? Do you believe joy comes in the morning?
All of us like comfy and cozy, right? No one likes to feel pain whether it’s emotional or physical. And yet, pain is something everyone of us experiences at some time or another in one way or another. So it is with sickness, stress, disappointment, rejection, grief. It’s all part of life on earth.
However, what if we were reminded of God’s holiness and His sovereignty? How would our thoughts and attitudes change?
Psalm 22 is a perfect illustration of one feeling absolutely forsaken in his darkest hour and is the precise foreshadow of that which Christ felt on the cross. Listen to the lament of the psalmist , “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” Those were the exact words Jesus cried out as well. One man – a human being; the other – the Son of God. Both felt forsaken. David was despised by his enemies. They sneered, wagged their heads, taunted him and tried to kill him. The same holds true of Jesus. His enemies sneered, wagged their heads, mocked , scorned, taunted, beat and tried to kill him.
BUT, listen —
BUT, listen to the hope expressed by the psalmist, David, in verse 3-4. “YET, You are holy. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You did deliver them.” So too, with Jesus. He was delivered when He was raised from the dead – victorious. Joy comes in the Morning!
The psalmist finds hope! Verse 10 of Psalm 22 says: “From my mother’s womb, You have been my God.” Jesus showed that He trusted in His Father when said, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done. Both experienced the joy that comes in the morning. Why did David have such hope and confidence that we would be delivered? Verse 28 tells us: :for the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.” (sovereignty) The psalmist would again praise God with songs of joy. So too, with Jesus. “But for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising its shame.” ( Hebrews 12:2) Joy in the hope of deliverance.
Joy Comes in the morning –
Be mindful, dear one, when you are suffering or are in a desperate situation – Weeping tarries for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5