My best friend and his family experienced a devastating loss this year. His older sister, L, was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer and passed away in November.
With alarming speed, the cancerous cells spread within months to almost every part of L’s body, ultimately making her a paraplegic.
This vivacious, caring wife and mother of two boys spent her last weeks restrained to a bed in a hospice, dependent on professional caretakers for her daily needs, whilst physical pain and mental anguish about her family’s future relentlessly tormented her.
What makes L’s passing so particularly heart-wrenching is that she had gone to a specialist two years ago to inquire whether a mole on her arm was malignant. The diagnosis came back negative, but it was unfortunately wrong.
I mourn with this family. Though they may be experiencing a sense of solace now that L’s suffering has come to an end, the gaping emotional wound from her passing confronts them daily through the reality of raising L’s two boys in her absence.
We all have experience with death. We all have experience with pain. Trials and challenges are no strangers to any of us. As believers in Christ, we know this to be a biblical truth because Jesus warned us in John 16:33 that we would encounter trouble in this world.
That being said, how long are we to endure hardships? How much suffering can a human physically and emotionally handle?
Psalm 30:5 identifies hardship as “weeping” and that it may endure for the length of a night.
However, what does this mean? And why are we told this? Let’s look at this Scripture more closely.
The Context Behind Psalm 30:5
Psalm 30 was written by someone who was well acquainted with suffering and trials — King David. In fact, David wrote 73 of the 150 Psalms found in the Bible, many of which are categorized as the “Psalms of Lament.”
Psalm 30 highlights one particular trial that David endured. Scholars believe that this psalm was David’s response to God’s judgment of his pride: In 1 Chronicles 21:1–14, the “man after God’s own heart” had conducted an unsolicited consensus of his military troops across the nation.
This angered the Lord greatly, and He consequently sent a pestilence upon Israel, which killed 70,000 men.
And yet, in spite of his punishment, David’s love for the Lord never faltered. His praise for the goodness of God never wavered. This is evident in Psalm 30:5:
For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Why could David praise the Lord in the midst of his suffering? David understood the following: Suffering is temporary. God’s love is eternal.
Let’s delve deeper.
Why Are We Told That Weeping May Endure for a Night?
When David’s pride aroused God’s wrath in 1 Chronicles 2:1-14, he was given the choice between three forms of punishment. David decided for his nation to be inflicted with a three-day plague.
As devastating as this epidemic was, David endured.
Why? Because he knew that his suffering, and that of his people, had a shelf life of three days.
In the same way, Psalm 30:5 seeks to encourage us that our suffering and struggles have a shelf life.
Scripture refers to a time period of a night, but this is a metaphorical measurement, not a literal one. However, regardless of how long your season of tribulation does last, be encouraged that it will pass.
In fact, Psalm 30:5 tells us that the murky darkness that transpires in the night hours cannot continue indefinitely: It will (and must) fade with the burst of a glorious, sunlight-filled dawn.
The arrival of the morning saves us from living in relentless nighttime, just as the light of God’s mercy will always penetrate the darkness of our situation and bring us out of it.
How to Endure the Night Hours
Now that we know that our times of hardship and suffering are temporary, how do we endure the night hours?
1. Keep your eyes on God. Trials and tribulations can keep us focused on ourselves. We block out the world and go down the metaphorical rabbit hole.
However, Isaiah 26:3 assures us that we can experience peace in the midst of a difficult situation when we take our eyes off ourselves and instead lift them to God. In doing so, we are also showing God that we trust Him to take us through our ordeal.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3).
2. Remember God’s faithfulness. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into Canaan in Joshua 4:1-9, they took 12 stones from the riverbed and set them up in Gilgal to remind themselves of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
In the same way, when troubles confront you, think back and remember the times when God helped you out of difficult situations.
If He helped you before, He will help you again, for God is always faithful and keeps His promises (Numbers 23:19).
3. Know you're protected. Psalm 91 includes a beautiful description of a mother hen protecting her chicks under the security of her wings (Psalm 91:4).
Likewise, God offers you shelter and protection in the midst of your trials. He will never allow anything to happen to you.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:1-2).
4. Sing through the night. One of the best ways to combat a bad situation is to give God praise through it.
Thank God out loud for His goodness, and thank Him in advance for making a way through your circumstances that defy human strength and understanding.
Playing worship songs is a great way to give God praise. Consider Paul and Silas, who in Acts 16:16-26 literally sang through the night whilst shackled in the deepest recesses of a Philippian prison.
And what happened? God caused an earthquake to break the apostles' shackles and spring their prison doors open!
David also praised the Lord in Psalm 30:1-4 in the midst of his suffering.
A wonderful worship song that is inspired by Psalm 30:5 and has encouraged me is “Joy in the Morning” from Tauren Wells and Elevation Worship.
Regardless of which songs you prefer, play them regularly and thank God that He is on the throne and in control, not your circumstances!
5. There is a purpose to your pain. Unlike David and the Israelites in 1 Chronicles 2:1-14, we are under a new covenant with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we need not fear the anger of the Lord of the Old Testament; instead, we are blessed to experience God’s love and mercy.
That being said, God will at times allow us to undergo seasons of struggle and even heartbreak.
Why? God may not cause a battle, but He will not waste a battle either.
Romans 8:28 explains that God will make all things turn out for our good. He can use our tests and turn it into a testimony that will comfort and encourage others.
In other words, God will give purpose to our pain.
Therefore, ask God what you can learn from your current season of pain that will serve the Kingdom and glorify Him.
Your Mourning will Turn into Dancing
Psalm 30 concludes with a message of hope that l pray encourages you, too.
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever (Psalm 30:11-12).
Not only will God’s light end the darkness of your situation, but the coming of a new day will bring cause to turn your mourning into dancing.
Not only are you going to survive your current ideal, but you will also one day smile again, love again, and be happy again. God’s love and favor assure you that this will be your portion.
Despite the turbulence and tragedy that David experienced in his life, he also exchanged his tears of weeping for tears of joy. God’s favor blessed him with the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ through David’s family line.
When I think about L’s family, I pray that their night hours of mourning will end in due time and be replaced with a new beginning of hope and peace for them.
Until that time comes, I will sit in the darkness with them. I will endure with them and sing through the night until the morning arrives with an outpouring of God’s new mercies.
For further reading:
Why Is Jeremiah Known as ‘The Weeping Prophet’?
Why Are We to Weep for Those Who Weep?
How Does Joy Come in the Morning?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kitzcorner
Madeline Kalu is an Australian Christian writer and the co-founder of Jacob’s Ladder Blog and The Proverbs 31 Home. She is also the co-author of the “My Year of Miracles 2024” journal, which encourages a daily reflection on the miracles that God performs in our lives throughout 2024. Madeline lives in Germany with her husband Solomon and the family’s two cats, who were rescued from the Ukrainian war zone.
