I write this post after two virtually sleepless nights—both directly or indirectly related to a bad rash of poison ivy. (Ugh!) While concentrating on not scratching last night, I remembered a verse about long, painful nights that had been a help to me during my college days.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b).

I remember one morning in particular reading this verse after an especially short night of sleep.

Of course, none of us like to experience the “night of weeping” referred to in this verse—a season of heartache or pain. These night seasons always feel too long.

But as I read the verse that morning through droopy, bloodshot eyes, I realized that the alternative isn’t any better. Short nights don’t make for happy mornings!

What if we could shorten the night of weeping? Perhaps we wouldn’t fully know the joy that comes in the morning.

Even as God designed our physical bodies to need rest, so He designed our spirits to rest in Him. And we are most prone to do this during times of difficulty and uncertainty. As we rest in Him and wait on Him through the night seasons, He works wondrous mornings of joy.

Perhaps you’re experiencing a “night of weeping.” Perhaps it’s dragging out longer than you ever dreamed it would. Perhaps you wish you could manipulate a way to shorten your night.

When the night seems too long, remember, joy comes in the morning! And remember, too, that the morning is only joyful after a night of rest.

“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him…joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 37:7; 30:5).