Psalm 30:5 (CEB)

His anger lasts for only a second,

but his favor lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may stay all night,

but by morning, joy!

Twice now I have taken part in the funeral of one of my children.

Barry, our oldest son, passed away more than eight years ago. Hannah, our oldest daughter, passed away only nine months ago.

Each of those losses shocked me to my core. I found myself asking, How will I ever get through this?

It turns out that is a common question when we face grief. We ask it after the death of someone we love, but also after the loss of a job, a devastating diagnosis, a miscarriage, or any loss that divides life into before and after. The question is so common that grief researcher Lucy Hone used it as the title of a book about living with and through grief.

Psalm 30 gives us the image of a long, dark night: “Weeping may stay all night.”

When you are in the middle of that night, it can feel as though morning will never come. Grief has a way of convincing us that this is simply what life will feel like from now on.

But the psalm doesn't deny the weeping. It doesn't tell us to cheer up or get over it. It simply reminds us that the night is not the whole story.

“By morning, joy!”

Morning doesn't erase what happened during the night. I would give anything to have my children back. That ache does not disappear because the sun comes up.

And yet, somehow, the sun does come up.

We laugh again without betraying the people we have lost. We notice beauty again. We discover moments of gratitude, connection, even joy. The scar remains, but life grows around it.

These two truths can live together: we can carry grief and still experience joy.

So when you find yourself in one of those dark nights, when it seems impossible to imagine morning, hold on to this promise: The night is real. But the night is not forever. The sun will come up again.

And joy comes in the morning.

Let’s pray.

Father, when we find ourselves in the dark nights of grief and loss, stay close to us. When we cannot imagine that morning will ever come, help us trust that darkness will not have the last word. Hold us through the weeping, and help us recognize joy when it begins to return. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.