“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Very early yesterday morning, I was walking to Hamburg’s main station. I had to catch a train to preach and give a missionary presentation in a country church on Ascension Day. As in many cities, Hamburg’s central station is located in a gritty part of town. I walked past homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk. Trash lay everywhere. Graffiti marked walls and storefronts. Close to the station, I heard a female voice behind me, singing what sounded like a praise song in a foreign language. The melody had an African lilt to it. The contrast between the squalor and the lady’s obvious joy in song was striking. She was walking quickly, perhaps trying to catch a train. She passed me, and I called out to her in English, “Are you a Christian?” She turned around, flashed a big smile, and replied, “Yes!” I called after her, “Thank you for your beautiful singing!” I snapped a picture of her in the pedestrian underpass, the bare concrete amplifying her cheery voice. We reached the cavernous main hall. The bakeries and snack bars were already doing brisk business, selling coffee and pastries. Travelers were rushing to their platforms—interspersed with beggars, some of them in wheelchairs. Announcements droned over the station’s PA system. And still she belted out her praise songs. Who knows what her situation in life is, but even if she is going through a hard spell, her joy in Christ obviously outweighs the difficulties of this “vale of years,” as Luther calls it. Happiness can be fleeting. But joy in Christ is a constant for us believers because we know that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil on our behalf. This lady shared her faith with hundreds of people yesterday and made my day. Praise God that even though weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes with the morning.
The Tiews in Germany 