Faith Cheerfully Perseveres

“Sing praises to the Lord, O you His faithful ones, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  ~ Psalm 30:4-5 (NRSV)

Scripture tells us, “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”.  We cannot grow spiritually until we exhibit a healthy faith that our troubled night will not last forever. Lamentations 3:31 says that “men are not cast off by the Lord forever.”

As we wait out the storms of life, will we assert that God’s compassion and mercy will come to our aid and that our loving God will not “willingly bring affliction” (Lam. 3:33)?  Will we speak up for Him instead of speaking against Him?  Will we say loudly and clearly that we believe He is fully aware of our suffering and the injustice done to us and that nothing escapes His notice?

Above all, will we be willing to accept hardship and testing, knowing that they strengthen our faith?  If our answer to that question is, “I will, the Lord helping me,” then we are well on the way to experiencing a faith that works morning by morning for every moment of our days!

I suppose it comes down to a new willingness to be broken by the circumstances of life that God in His sovereign grace permits.  When you do that, your faith distress becomes faith developed, which can then be gloriously displayed by God to a hungry world.  You can have faith in the loving compassion of a merciful God, who will, moment by moment and crisis by crisis, supply all the grace you need.

“Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love” (Lam. 3:32).