Joy Comes in the Morning

Hey my loves, 

So truthfully I had no intention of writing about this today. Honestly, I’m starting out not even knowing exactly where this is going, but I just want to talk about how joy has shown up in my life, even in the midst and ESPECIALLY at the end of suffering. 

A lot of times life can feel very stagnant. You know what I mean? Days where you’re just going through the motions without anything major happening, but still feeling the weight of the world. Sometimes, I don’t even want to get out of bed, and I have no idea why.

Let me take you back to one of the hardest times in my life. I was 15, navigating the loss of my great-grandmother, dealing with a broken “relationship” (and let me just clock the tea on how little I understood relationships at that age? And the fact that I was not supposed to have no ‘little friend” Sorry mom <3), facing mental abuse, and losing friendships. Every day was a battle, and I’m not sure if anyone around me even noticed. Not because they didn’t care, but because I was that good at pretending.

 I felt unseen, unheard, and unvalued. But here’s the thing—I was always seen, I was always heard, and I was always valued. God placed people in my life who were working on His behalf, even when I couldn’t see it. Through all the sleepless nights, the tears, and the hopelessness…God said NO!!!! He had not even begun to write my story. Every test I went through became part of my testimony. Every battle I fought, He was right there fighting with me. And because of that, I can confidently tell you: Joy always comes in the morning.

I’ll share more about my story later, but right now I just want to shift quickly. 

Now, I need to be clear here: having faith does NOT mean we won’t face hardships. Pain is inevitable in this world. For my fellow believers, we already know that being in the world doesn’t mean we have to be of it. We’re all going to face tough times, but here’s the amazing part about that: life is so much less painful when you’re living it with God. You can try to do it on your own (trust me, I’ve been there), but the harsh reality is that TRUE fulfillment only comes through Him.

There are many amazing people on this Earth who aren’t actually happy because they haven’t found the “secret sauce”. Spoiler alert: I just told you what that is. There are people who appear to be living their best life, and behind closed doors they are battling things that some of us could never comprehend. They are fighting battles and losing. They are suffering!! 

Now some may have already exited this page and that’s okay. And some of you might be ready to click off now, but I encourage you to continue reading because this just might change your life!! 

God does not want us to suffer because he loves us just that much. Because of that love we already have EVERYTHING. (I wanted to say that we have everything we need, but it does not stop there, we literally have everything through that love He has for us.) 

So what exactly is joy? Why should you care? 

When I google the definition of the word Joy this is it: “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”.

But my Bible scholars, will recognize this one: Weeping (sorrow) may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. 

So let’s break down this scripture really quick. When you go to sleep at night, when do you wake up? The morning. Okay, so see where I’m going here (this is where I’m smiling at you because if we are using our context clues then you already know where I am heading). So if morning has to follow the night, then what’s coming after our sorrow?  JOY!!! If that don’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.

Now before I let you get tooooo excited I must say that this scripture applies to the believer who is seeking God. Because God is not some genie in a bottle or some help hotline that you can only call on when you’re going through difficult times. But if you truly seek His face and have a relationship with him then He will not allow you to sorrow all through the night AND through the morning. And let’s not take this in a literal sense because you might just cry more than one night, but your sorrow will only last for a season. 

Joy in Jesus is a life that will end but knowing that there is so much more to life than the one that you are living today. Joy is the ability to see the sun in the middle of the rain and though at times it may seem impossible know that there is someone holding your hand and guiding you through. 

So today, be encouraged. And let’s get real—He will always give us joy no matter what we’re going through. Now, I’m not saying life will always feel like sunshine and rainbows, but joy is so much more than feeling happy every day. It’s that steady peace and feelings of contentment that come from knowing God’s always, always, always got your back. No matter what, joy is trusting that God’s working things out for your good, and that gives you the strength to keep going—even when life gets messy. As it always does. I love you but more importantly, God loves you!! So keep fighting the good fight. 

What did you think of today’s read? Let me know down in the comments and come back soon to hear more. 

Just a gentle reminder that joy, can be experienced even as an adult, embrace your childlike manner and remember the only opinion that matters concerning you is God’s and he thinks you are amazing.

~With love, (and joy)

Lailah