The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Joy Cometh"
For three days, the body of the divine Creator who had become human lay dead in a tomb. To those who had followed Him, but who did not understand His words regarding a necessary death and resurrection, the days must have the darkest of their lives (perhaps the darkest days any human hearts have ever known, considering what - Who - they seemed to have lost). But…
"But God raised Him from the dead" (Acts 13:30).
Only the disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly lifetime have ever known perfection in a human being. Certainly, we have all been blessed with wonderful people in our lives, people we well know are gifts of God (I feel that way about all of you who read these messages!). Never, however, have we lived in the direct presence of One whose human countenance, demeanor, attitude, and words glimmered with Divine perfection in every moment. To lose such a one would have been sorrow upon sorrow upon sorrow. But then, to regain such a one would have been "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8). Thus, we must consider that John, Mary, Peter, Martha, Nicodemus, and others who discovered their loved One had returned must have felt a happiness beyond all others. I often think of this when pondering a familiar and beloved assurance of the Old Testament…
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Proverbs 30:5).
The sorrows of this life are all doomed for those who trust the Lord Jesus. Pain will perish. Grief will dissolve. Loss will leave. Death will be swallowed up in victory. Every tear will be wiped away by the approaching dawn when the Bright and Morning Star will arise to drive away all darkness. In that day, we will feel what saints of old felt when they found an empty tomb, heard angelic voices of assurance, and ran breathlessly to be greeted by their risen Lord. Joy came in that morning. It - He - will come again some day, and in His first light, the weight of this present world will fall blessedly and forever away. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
It is good that we will have glorified hearts in that holy hour, to contain the immeasurable joy that will fill and fulfill us forever. Yes, weeping endures. But only for a night. The Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. His return for the redeemed draws ever more nigh, and with Him the everlasting joy, the joy that that cometh in the morning.
"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."
(John 16:22)
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face."
(I Corinthians 13:12)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Proverbs 30:5)
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