The Advent of Christ - Joy Comes in the Morning

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5

I was recently using a set of Soularium Cards to prompt meaningful discussion with a group of people I was with. Soularium Cards: A Dialogue in Pictures is described as this, “Just as sunlight illuminates a solarium, Soularium opens a window to the soul…because images connect deeply with our experiences, they enable us to engage in meaningful conversations about life & God.” One of the questions we were posed with was this, “When you think about your spiritual life or journey, which image best represents what you wish were true…what does that image represent?” Out of the collection of images of city streets, flowers, sunsets, mangled wire, and the like - the image that I connected with was that of a set of weathered, heavy wooden doors.  

When I reflect on what I wish to be true about my faith, my spiritual life, and my journey, it is that at the end of my life, my faith, regardless of the mountain tops and the valley lows, that my faith stands firm. Weathered. Worn. But firm and tried. True. So that when I am overwhelmed with anxiety and frustrations of day-to-day life, and peace seems like a distant friend, that over time, I remember time and again that JOY comes in the morning. As Cain writes in their song I’m So Blessed, I remember that though: “Worry wanna steal my joy away…I ain’t gonna let it win… ‘Cause on my best day, I’m a child of God. On my worst day, I’m a child of God”. Indestructible Joy is formed over time and through grounding ourselves in the Truth that even though we may be in a difficult season today, a dark day that may not feel like it will ever end - JOY comes in the morning.

So, during this Advent season, reflect on where your source of Joy comes from. Is it rooted in external factors or rooted in knowing that you are loved, blessed, and a child of God?  And, when we think about and reflect on our spiritual life towards the end of our days, what image do you want to be true about your faith journey? My prayer for you this season is that your faith, though weathered and worn, will stand firm because it has been rooted in the Truth, knowing that Joy comes in the morning.