Joy comes in the morning

The other night I spoke at a candlelight vigil for victims of drunk driving crashes and drug overdoses. One of the first things that came to mind as I was preparing my talk were a couple lines from my late grandma’s favorite bible verse, Psalm 30:5:

“weeping may endure for a night
but joy comes in the morning”

There is so much hope in that verse, but there is also much uncertainty. When you’ve lost a loved one to a tragic car crash or drug overdose, especially if they were young, it can seem so incredibly senseless that the joy just never seems to come. You understand the weeping, but the joy, not so much.

As I was pondering these tough questions, I read that they were completing a sort of sequel to 1981’s Oscar winning movie, Chariots of Fire. The new film is called The Last Race and I can’t wait to see it. It is about what happened to Olympic gold medal winner Eric Liddell after he turned his back on fame to remain a missionary in China as the world was burning. Eric had an opportunity to return home to Scotland more than once as the fires of WWII rose around him, but he chose to send his family home and stay with the orphans in China he had spent most of his adult life ministering to. This decision ultimately led to a prison camp and death at the age of 43. Eric is one of my heroes. Whenever I’m really down, I watch Chariots of Fire and remind myself of the abiding joy that can be found in the pain and struggle of life even when life seems nothing but dark.

I’m sure Eric knew this verse well. He must have thought of it as he spent years in the prisoner of war camp where he ultimately died. Yet, from those who knew him in China, he was always able to find joy. Eric found this peace in a faith that taught him we do not suffer in isolation, we are never alone when we are loving and serving another, and the carpenter, the son of God who sacrificed himself on a cross doesn’t just understand our pain, he felt it himself. When you wake up driven to serve another, to love, to follow the example of Christ, you find joy. The world can be crumbling, the inexplicable can be happening, everything can be burning, yet on your knees, you can still find joy.

You will have opportunities this season to weep, and you will have opportunities to find joy. When the night fades and the day seems overwhelming, may you lean on each other with love. It might be a stranger, a family member, or an old friend, whomever, you are never alone when serving another.