It Will Be All Over in the Morning
- Dr. Isaac Hayes
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
Hold onto hope through life’s seasons of weeping, knowing that God’s "Sheriff Joy" is on the way to evict your sorrow and bring the morning’s rejoicing.
There’s a lot going on in the world. There’s a lot going on in people’s lives. The complexities of our current day make us nostalgic for the “days of ole.” It seems that we are busier than we’ve ever been, more fractured than we’ve ever been, sicker than we’ve ever been, more depressed than we’ve ever been, and less committed than we’ve ever been—quite simply, we’re just here, existing.
The existentialists view suffering as destiny. It is unavoidable, but we have the freedom to choose how we respond to the vicissitudes of this life. And that’s the beauty of the human condition: God has given us free will. Yes, it has its boundaries and limitations, but it is free nonetheless.
Human suffering is all around us. We hear it on our news, we discuss it with our coworkers, and we see it in our own lives. But the struggle is not our struggles; the struggle is the will to survive, the will to be. Ella Fitzgerald once wrote, “Into each life some rain must fall. … But I know, baby, that someday that old sun is bound to shine. Some folks can lose the blues in their hearts, but when I think of you, pretty baby that's when another shower starts.”[1] There is always sunshine after the rain, but we must have the resolve to endure the rain so that we can embrace that old sun.
Ms. Fitzgerald may not have been quoting a Scripture, but her insight was certainly theological. For there is a passage of Scripture in Psalm 30:5 which says, “Weeping lodges for the evening, but in the morning comes rejoicing” (LEB). I like The Lexham English Bible’s translation because it captures the force of the Psalmist’s sentiments. Mr. Weeping is like a tenant who refuses to leave the property, but in the morning, Sheriff Joy will arrive to evict him.
You may be in a season of weeping for any number of reasons. You may have been diagnosed with a serious illness. You may have lost a loved one. You may have been let go from your job. Your school funding may have been denied. You may be going through a devastating divorce. You may be caregiving for a loved one. You may find yourself in an undesirable living situation. I could go on. But what God wants me to encourage you to do is to have the will to be. That is, have the intestinal fortitude to endure whatever you are going through! Because that is exactly what you are doing: going through this momentary pain to God’s monumental promise.
This season, we find ourselves in a situation that appears to be going from bad to worse. And we don’t know how much worse it will get. But what we do know is that God is with us, and He will work all these things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Therefore, we must draw from the unlimited well of God’s compassion and grace and know that He has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
There is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in the world. These two have become squatters in the hearts and minds of many. And though you may not be able to evict them yourself, Sheriff Joy is making his way to your house.
So, hold on until the morning. Hold on to God’s unchanging hand. Hold on to the promises of God. He is sending you His joy, His peace, His power. In the words of The Winans, “Ain't no need in worrying what the night is gonna bring, it'll be all over in the morning.”[2]
Dr. Isaac Hayes is an Assistant Pastor at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, Illinois, and author of Men After God’s Heart: 10 Principles of Brotherly Love. He also has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Follow Dr. Hayes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at @RevIsaacHayes.
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