Joy comes in the morning

I bought a wooden sign that says, “joy comes in the morning”. I like the idea of that. When I brought it home, I got a puzzling look from my. . .

I bought a wooden sign that says, “joy comes in the morning”.  I like the idea of that.  When I brought it home, I got a puzzling look from my husband.  I know he must think I lost my mind.  I put it alongside the tub in my bathroom so as I get ready in the morning, I can look at it and plant the thought that I should start my day in the solid foundation that my joy comes from the Lord.

I am not a morning person. It takes me at least an hour for my mouth to articulate what my brain is thinking.  I am not grumpy in the morning, I just can’t talk.  My mouth does not work.  This was an argument between my husband and me for a long time. He thought that I should snap out of it or that I chose to be grumpy in the morning.  He saw my lack of enthusiasm as a state of mind that I was choosing and took it as a personal offense.

One morning when my daughter was about 4 years old, she came downstairs and flopped her body on the couch with merely a disgruntled moan.  Besides the fact that it was funny, I took the opportunity to show that she is not a morning person, and it was not something that I taught her, but the way God made her.  Then, when my son was born and was an early riser, I was able to reiterate that I didn’t teach him that either.  It was the way God made him.

But the thought that joy comes in the morning is much more significant than my morning disposition. There are many times that I allow something that happens throughout the day to keep me up all night.  I can’t let go of it.  I will inevitably go to bed with the stress of the day on my mind and it will wake me up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes I turn on the television and sometimes I get a snack but usually those methods do not work.  Things never look as bleak and heavy in the morning as they feel in the middle of the night.  When I don’t give my heart and thoughts over to the Lord, I think about how I have screwed something up or that I am in trouble.  

But when I give my thoughts and feelings of fear or inadequacy over to the Lord, I am able to think through the situation and allow God’s grace to wash over me and allow me to rest.  He wants us to come to him.  It is when I give up and surrender that I ask him to meet me in the middle of the night, that he soothes my soul and attends to my needs.  It is then that I will fall back to sleep and wake up with God’s joy in the morning.  

The joy that comes in the morning is peace and assurance that God is in control and that He loves me and wants what is best for me.  He is the master of the universe and is able to handle anything that comes my way.  I need to learn to draw on His resources first, and not put myself through the heartache of trying to handle things on my own.

Ecclesiastes 2: 22-23 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?  All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest.  This too is meaningless.

Instead, Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

I would encourage you to save yourself some of the agonizing and loss of sleep and seek the Lord in all you do.  Ask him to carry your burdens and He will give you a different perspective.  Go to him in each moment as they happen.  He will give you guidance, joy and rest.

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