Let me commence with a beautiful reading from Charles Spurgeon’s devotional Morning by Morning.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5. Christian! If thou art in a night of trial, think of the morrow; cheer up thy heart with the thought of the coming of thy Lord. Be patient, for “Lo! He comes with clouds descending.” Be patient! The Husbandman waits until he reaps his harvest. Be patient; for you know who has said, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.” If you are never so wretched now, remember “A few more rolling suns, at most, Will land thee on fair Canaan’s coast.”

Thy head may be crowned with thorny troubles now, but it shall wear a starry crown ere long; thy hand may be filled with cares–it shall sweep the strings of the harp of heaven soon. Thy garments may be soiled with dust now; they shall be white by and by. Wait a little longer. Ah! how despicable our troubles and trials will seem when we look back upon them! Looking at them here in the prospect, they seem immense; but when we get to heaven we shall then “With transporting joys recount, the labours of our feet.” Our trials will then seem light and momentary afflictions. Let us go on boldly; if the night be never so dark, the morning cometh, which is more than they can say who are shut up in the darkness of hell.

Do you know what it is thus to live on the future–to live on expectation–to antedate heaven? Happy believer, to have so sure, so comforting a hope. It may be all dark now, but it will soon be light; it may be all trial now, but it will soon be all happiness. What matters it though “weeping may endure for a night,” when “joy cometh in the morning?”

Dear reader in Christ, are you feeling low, lost, alone, depressed, broken, cheated, frustrated, or disappointed? This word of God is for you. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5. The promise of God is truthful and faithful. In the last message, you must have been encouraged by the word of God promised in Isaiah 54:4 and I am sure you are claiming God’s promise of no more barrenness, no more shame, disgrace and no more abandonment. Time to claim more promises of God. 

Psalms 30:5 says, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning”. It’s the favour of our Lord that sustains us. It is His favour that enables us to overcome dire straits. Verse 7 says, “Lord, by Thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled”. Psalmist acknowledges that it is only purely by Lord’s favour, I am standing on the strong foundation that cannot be shaken. How many times, do we feel, Oops I no longer receive the favour of God? Our hearts will start trembling with uncertainty as our foundation is shaken. Christ’s favour is our strength. When God is with us, who can stand against us?

There is a beautiful saying “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” We live in a period where loads of negative news reaches faster; added to that, we have our own personal hardships! Finding true joy seems to be the hardest thing in daily life. The obvious answer is in the word of God – Psalms 16:11 (NLT) “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.”

Everyone has their own way of life, but each way is in search of the purpose of life. Some take the bad path and others the good path. Sometimes we are dependent on counsellors, life coaches, and spiritual leaders to guide us on the right path. But did you find the right path for your gifted life?

David says in verses 7 and 8 – I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night, my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. David reaffirms that the Lord is the instructor/guide of our life. The Lord instructs us 24/7 and instils the words in our hearts. Since the guidance is from the Lord Himself, we can rest assured the path will lead to eternal joy. What a joy to have our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ right beside us. Verse 9 says, “No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety”. Amen! When we know we are doing what the Lord wants and walk based on His guidance, our heart is filled with gladness. The feeling of walking in God’s purpose is hard to explain, it’s such a Joy. That’s why David says, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasure of living with You forever”.

Dearly beloved, every day we see thousands of new advertisements and branding that say, we transform your life, we create value, we bring happiness, we show the purpose of life – this is pure bogus. Devil is a liar and he lies blatantly. All these ads that are done by the companies are blatant lies. Never trust. There is only one way to eternal joy – the answer was given by Jesus Himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

When you know the way maker is right within you, why do you want to look outside for joy? Revelations 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Verse 12 – Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Because of the short period, the devil is deceiving every single person in the world from preachers, and pastors, to everyone. Beware!

1 John 4:1 ESV Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Devil has set forth so many so-called prophets to deceive Christians. Christians are the highest percentage of people who are falling prey to the deception of Satan in today’s world. We see a lot of people converting out of Christianity as the immoral characteristics of name-sake Christians are depicted everywhere in the world. People have Christian names, but don’t know Jesus! They use Jesus’ name in abusive conversations. This has been setting a bad precedent in the internet world where everyone gets to see the non-characteristics of Christ through them. Even Churches have programs that blaspheme the characteristics of God.

God’s characteristics are seen by the fruit of His Spirit – Galatians 5:22,23 – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Devil is displaying immoral love as the norm in the world and people love it. It’s the craziest deception for Christians. Beware! Worldly joy is the way of life – we live to enjoy life in a cosy way; another deception! Sometimes prosperity preaching gets deceptive; while prosperity is from the Lord, beware of worldly unethical ways of prosperity. Just DO NOT BELIEVE IN EVERY SPIRIT BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD.

Galatians 5: 24, and 25 say, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives”. To live a joyful life, just meditate on the Lord’s word and walk by the instructions given to us. Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts”. We might have high IQ and may be the best in everything we do, thank God for it but give heed to the Lord’s word for His guidance cannot be fathomed by our intelligence. Just allow His way in our life. It will be way more beautiful than what we could have ever imagined. Verses 12 and 13 say – “You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honour to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of His power and love.”

Dearly beloved, forget about your mourning, it’s time to rejoice in the presence of the Lord. “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning” – Lamentations 3:22-23.

Amen