Waist Deep 2018 - April 5

Psalm 30: 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime . . . weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (NIV)

[God’s discipline] . . . is temporary and its purpose is not punitive but restorative.*

What a beautiful description of God’s love and how we should view his discipline. I can almost hear God saying, “It takes a lot to make me mad but . . .” Thankfully, he defers punishment to give us time to repent, allowing time for our consciences to convict us. But God does get angry.

“What a mercy,” says one commentator, that the Lord’s wrath doesn’t “smoke . . . for a long season.”* How blessed we are that his long-term mercy outweighs his short-term wrath.* And what a relief it is that our weeping remains only for the night, like a hotel guest who checks out in the morning!

While a night of crying myself to sleep does not always end with a dawn of rejoicing, morning at least brings relief and restored hope. The night is over and a new day full of opportunities awaits. I am always hopeful that the day will reveal solutions. If nothing else, busyness, time, and distance remove me from the pain. And the promise of this verse is fulfilled: things will get better.

We must rejoice in God when we have nothing else to rejoice in, and cleave to him . . . though we cannot . . . find comfort in him.*