+DEV+ Promise of the Dawn

Date: February 28, 2011 10:36 PM
Topic: +DEV+ Promise of the Dawn

Promise of the Dawn

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning" (Psalm 130:5-6).
Scripture Focus: Psalm 30:1-12

One translation reads "more than sentries wait for the dawn." I have a vivid memory of being on night guard duty in South Korea in the winter. I was training at a mountainous camp, south of Seoul, one of many of the 1st Signal Brigade. There was a sense of foreboding, and all felt the reality of war. As a sentry, I remember the pitch dark, the intense cold and the responsibility of the loaded rifle. Any noise, and one called out, "Who goes there?" But mostly, I remember eagerly waiting for the dawn. It was a strangely desolate experience.

So this verse springs off the page for me. The dawn always comes! If we are suffering in any way, our reading speaks to us. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Literally it is "In the morning, Behold, Joy!" The joy comes as a surprise. And the unexpected dawn of a consoling vision of our beloved Lord will come just at the moment when we feel the night of suffering would last forever.

Insight: Are you suffering bereavement or some other sharp pain? Do you feel it will never end? Dawn will come. "The sun also rises" (Ecclesiastes 1:5).