Dark Nights
The Starry Night
(Painted by Vincent van Gogh) (1889)
“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”
– Psalm 30:5.
There are seasons of life where things don’t go well. People betray you, businesses fail, sickness attacks, family collapses or ministries go through hard times. When that happens, it can seem like the pain will never end, but the good news is that it does. What’s more, those dark nights are often followed by seasons of joy, restoration and happiness. The challenge is you don’t know how long the dark night will last before the morning of rejoicing comes. You can only encourage yourself with the faith knowledge that the good times will return. Job experienced this turnaround as we read in Job 42:10-12: “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.” Are you in a dark night? Can you thank God for the joyful morning long before it comes? Can you remain steady in your faith walk, even though you cannot see your hand in front of your face?
Today’s reading – Psalms 26-30
John Stanko was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Duquesne University where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics in 1972 and 1974 respectively.
Since then, John has served as an administrator, teacher, consultant, author, and pastor in his professional career. He holds a second master’s degree in pastoral ministries, and earned his Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh in 2011.
John founded a personal and leadership development company, called PurposeQuest, in 2001 and today travels the world to speak, consult and inspire leaders and people everywhere. From 2001-2008, he spent six months a year in Africa and still enjoys visiting and working on that continent, while teaching for Geneva College’s Masters of Organizational Leadership and the Center for Urban Biblical Ministry in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most recently, John founded Urban Press, a publishing service designed to tell stories of the city, from the city and to the city.
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