Listen

Lord, my God, I cried out to you for help, and you healed me. Lord, you brought me up from the grave, brought me back to life from among those going down to the pit.

You who are faithful to the Lord, sing praises to him; give thanks to his holy name! His anger lasts for only a second, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay all night, but by morning, joy!

Psalm 30:2-5

Think

Have you ever stayed up all night waiting on the sun to rise? Maybe you were at a lock-in or some other event that required you to stay awake. At times it seems like those first rays of sunlight will never arrive. Yet… they always do.

There are many reasons for us to feel similarly in our lives. It is easy to wonder when “this” might end or when we will feel hope and joy again. Yet, in these very hours, the psalmist instructs us to sing and give praise to God. We don’t sing and praise out of a denial of what we are experiencing but because we can rest in knowing that hope and joy await us ahead… eventually.

Sometimes hope just doesn’t seem very hopeful. The realization of our hope can seem forever away (like those rays of light from the sunrise). Yet, our hope and faith depend not on what we can see but on a promise that light will come… eventually.

Dale Tadlock

Pray

God of Light, waiting is difficult. Sometimes my patience wears thin. When I am tempted to give up remind me of the promise of sunlight after a long dark night. Give me the courage to hold on to hope and my faith even when I feel hopeless. Amen.

Go

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Martin Luther King Jr.